A Heart So Cold
by Moonlight Talon of the Night
Summary: Icekit is the son of Briarlight. He remembers things, but memories that were never his! An Ice colder than Leafbare can only be thawed by the friendships forged in the sands, and a love grown through hardships through the violent breezes... Can Icekit steer away from the evil monster inside him? Or will History relapse? Rated T cus Warriors
1. I: A Day Out

_**A Day Out**_

_**Well due to high demand, a sequel to my story UNBROKEN, has been created. If you haven't read Unbroken before, make sure to check it out by clicking on my name and going to my stories :3**_

_**A.N. ADDED ON 30-3-15 at 00:06:**__** TO AVOID FURTHER CONFUSION THIS STORY IS A SEQUEL. THAT MEANS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE STORY BEFORE, YOU SHOULD! IT CLEARS UP A LOT OF THOSE "WHY YOU THROW THE WARRIOR CODE OUT THE WINDOW" KIND OF QUESTIONS! THE STORY BEFORE IS NAMED "UNBROKEN". YOU CAN DISREGARD THIS IF YOU ARE WILLING TO JUMP INTO THIS STORY WITHOUT A CARE, BUT PLEASE, IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON I'D ADVISE YOU READING THE FIRST INSTALLMENT. SORRY FOR TAKING UP TEXT SPACE.**_

_**Now it is time for this tale to be heard!**_

* * *

Icekit looked at his littermates play with each other on this tranquil day. The sun was shining, the grass was lightly tilting from the breeze that the new leaf winds provided, or so Jayfeather had told him.

"Sweetie." Briarlight spoke. "Why don't you go play with your littermates?"

"I… I don't want to…" He said timidly.

"Ever since you opened your eyes, you've always been so protective of yourself." Briarlight said.

Soon enough a sly smile spread across her face. She proceeded to look at Ivypool, Squirrelflight, Waverunner and Cinderheart.

"I can't force you to go, but if you stay, then you'll have to listen to us talk about boring stuff." She exaggerated.

_Oh no_. Icekit thought. He absolutely hated being involved or stuck in those conversations between the queens.

"Ill go find something to do!" He squeaked, no longer sounding timid, quickly rushing out of the nursery.

The moment he walked out, the breeze had lifted up some of his kit fur. He quickly scampered to the group of kits playing.

"Oh look…" Firekit sneered. "Its _Tiny_kit. Finally came out of the Nursery now did you?"

"I did." Icekit said, purposely ignoring Firekits usual annoyance. "I was wondering if i could play with you?"

Acornkit walked up as if she was about to invite him in, but then his sister Thrushkit came in.

"Grow first, then you can play with us." She snickered as her littermates went over to the group of playing kits. Acornkit looked at Icekit.

"Stop hanging out with that loser and get over here Acornkit!" Firekit called out.

Hesitantly, Acornkit turned and went to the group of kits.

_Tinykit… Grow first…_ The words echoed in his mind.

"I hate being small… I wish I could grow." He said under his breath.

_If they don't want to play with me, Ill do something exciting._

Icekit almost never got to play with the others because his littermates would always shun him out. What he would usually do is head to the Elders den and listen to the stories they had, like the Leadership of Bluestar, the darkest hour with the battle of Bloodclan.

There was always information left out of the stories though, as they never seemed to mention the traitor during Bluestar's reign, or the cat referred as Blood during the battle against Bloodclan. It didn't bother him much, but it felt weird not knowing the missing parts of a story.

When he didn't go to the Elders Den, he would look around camp. He would check where he could hide to scare his littermates, where to hide incase he got sad or mad, and last but not least, a way to leave camp undetected.

He scampered to the medicine cat den as quickly as possible.

He soon peaked his head around the medicine cat den, to make sure his father was not inside. Jayfeather did not like kits inside the medicine cat den ever since they trampled on a store of juniper berries.

Fortunately for Icekit, He was not in the den.

Icekit ran up to the pile of moss, and knocked it over quickly, revealing a hole that leads out of camp. A passageway to get away from camp, from his littermates, even if it was just for a bit.

He peaked his head into the passageway, and then slowly nudged his body in. Now inside the little passageway, he crawled slowly, the light at the end of the little passageway getting closer and closer.

He poked his head out, and then using force, he got the rest of himself out of the little tunnel.

His pelt began to tingle with excitement, as a stronger breeze touched his back. He was out of the camp, and no one had noticed yet!

He began to walk in one direction. He had heard from apprentices that the territory was huge, and he wanted to find out himself.

The sun in his eyes, he treaded carefully as he didn't know what could be lurking around.

Anytime a shrub or bush rustled, Icekit would arch his back, and let his kit fur stand. It was better than shrieking in fear.

Soon enough he reach a giant tree almost right next to the lake.

"I wish I could be as big as this tree!" He exclaimed with amazement.

He soon saw a shadow pass over him. He looked up with fear. It was a hawk.

A shrill screech filled the air as he saw it fly his way.

Petrified, he stood there and screamed. He closed his eyes.

Soon enough he felt something lift him up.

At first, he though it was the hawk, but then he realized that the movement was constant, as if it was running.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw a gray mottled pelt.

He was soon put down.

Icekit looked up and saw a pair of blue eyes.

"What were you thinking of sneaking out of camp, and if you where going to sneak out, why didn't you bring someone with you?"

"I'm sorry father." He shrank, as Jayfeather's unseeing eyes seemed to pierce his mind.

Jayfeather gaze seemed to soften. "I'm not mad. Just a little upset." He said, his voice becoming somewhat calmer. "Come on lets get you back to camp." Jayfeather picked him up again, and began to walk back to camp.

Icekit felt tired so he fell asleep in Jayfeather's jaws.

He woke up to Briarlight's voice. "Where have you been? Ive been worried!"

"Well I found him outside of camp." Jayfeather simply said.

"Is this true?" He asked Icekit. He nodded in response to his leader.

"Well Icekit." Bramblestar was about to speak. Something about Bramblestar made him feel afraid, and hatred. "You will tend to the elders for a moon."

"Just that?" Jayfeather asked, somewhat confused.

"Well I remember when 3 troublesome kits went fox hunting, and got lightly punished." Bramblestar was looking directly at Jayfeather.

"Never going to let me forget about that now will you." Jayfeather said, half jokingly.

"You can go now Icekit." Bramblestar said, dissuasively.

Icekit scampered back to the nursery.

"Well looks like _Tiny_kit is back from his adventure." Firekit said.

"Be quiet Firekit." Icekit said.

"Ohohoho, pipsqueak is trying to boss me around." Firekit said cockily. "What are you going to do?"

Icekit looked straight into Firekit's eyes. This was a stare down. Something about Firekit's sky blue eyes did not look intimating, but he could see that Firekit was starting to back down, when he was staring into his own ice blue eyes. Soon enough Firekit looked away.

"That's what I thought Firekit." He walked into the Nursery, to the farthest he could go, and began to groom his black kit fur.

Soon enough, Dunekit walked up to him.

"Um… Hi Icekit." He could tell that Dunekit was trying to start a conversation.

"Hello Dunekit." Icekit said in a way friendlier manor then when he was speaking with Firekit.

"I think it was pretty cool that you decided to sneak out of camp… even if you did get in trouble."

Icekit simply shrugged. "It was nothing."

"We should hang out more." Dunekit suggested, with a smile spread across his face.

Icekit smiled at him. "Maybe we should."

Icekit let out a yawn. "Well I don't know about you, but I'm going to sleep." Icekit curled up, as he was tired from his adventure.

"Well see you later Icekit." Dunekit slowly walked away.

Icekit seemed wake up, but somewhere completely different, somewhere where it smelled like crow food, somewhere completely dark.

"_Hello young one, what brings you here?" A voice seemed to whisper in the shadows. "Do you come seeking valor? Or do you come here seeking strength?"_

"_Who are you?" Icekit said looking around, somewhat frightened._

_A part of the ground began to bubble. Icekit felt the need to run, but he did not want to show his fear._

_From the ground, a dark shade bubbled up, forming a shape of a cat. The bubbling started to disappear, as the color seemed to fill up where the bubbling was._

_This cat was a sleek black, like him, with a huge scar at his neck. He soon opened his eyes, to reveal his amber eyes._

"_Who was I?" The tom spoke._

"_I was a cat, neglected by his father, grew up with a over protective mother, had loyalties, and died in battle." He simply said._

"_What is your name?" Icekit asked, wondering what the noble warriors name was._

"_Before I reveal my name to you, what brings you here?"_

"_I don't know." Icekit simply said._

"_All come here for a reason Icekit.' He said his name. "Oh yes, I have seen you, your litter mates neglect you, they don't want you near them, they mock you for your size." He said. "I know what you seek. You seek a way to prove that you are stronger no?"_

_Icekit wanted to say no, but the words "stronger" rang in his ears, as if it was a piece of fresh kill waiting for him. He had also been thinking about how his littermates tease him for his size._

"_I hear them call you names Icekit." This black tom walked up to him. "They call you too weak… they call you too small." He was starting to circle around him. "It may be true now, but it can all change."_

_Icekit looked at the tom. "How?"_

"_I can make you strong. I can make you powerful. I can give you strength of a leader!"_

_Icekit's attention was on the cat._

"_I can train you." He simply said. "But you will need time to think about this choice." He simply said. "Also keep this meeting a secret."_

_Icekit felt himself sinking away into the ground._

_The mysterious tom began to fade away as a breeze began to remove the shade bubbles away._

"_What is your name?" He called out._

"_My name is Breezepelt."_

He woke up and what Breezepelt had told him echoed in his ears.

_I can make you strong. I can make you powerful. I can give you strength of a leader!_

* * *

_**Well here is the beginning of the new story, "A Heart So Cold", I will continue working on this, and sorry if this chapter wasn't long, its very hard to use OC's alongside Cannon characters :3**_

_**Make sure to review, favorite and follow if you want to see more!**_

_**-Talon**_


	2. II: Apprenticeship

_**Apprenticeship**_

_**Well it seems like the lot of you liked the first chapter, so I am here to answer and respond to reviews.**_

_**Kiwi: Thank you for your nice review, and I loved your excitement too :3 Maybe just maybe things can play out like that, you'll just have to find out.**_

_**Sunnypelt: Well Its like Cinderpelt reincarnation concept. Scourge shouldn't remember everything instantly, but it should come back with time.**_

_**SilverStormyWolf: Thanks :3**_

_**Spottedmist: Well Its completely up to Icekit…**_

_**AutumnstripeOlympus: Thanks :3**_

_**Guest (So Breezepelt) : I do believe the same rumor that Scourge got the littlest belief of Starclan once he died, since he kinda was Agnostic (One who accepts the possibility of a god existing or not, and will only change with given evidence).**_

* * *

It had now been a moon since Breezepelt's ad made an offer to him, and Icekit had been thinking long and hard. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't consult Dunekit, or Dunepaw now, along with Acornpaw, Creampaw and Patchpaw. Ivypool and Squirrelflight left the Nursery, but it was still quite crowded in the Nursery with Waverunner's kits and Cinderheart's kits still in the Nursery.

Icekit could see Waverunner contently watching the seven kits play with each other in the clearing. Waverunner's kits, Thistlekit, he looked like Waverunner, and Pinekit, she looked did not look like anyone in the clan, but she had a light brown pelt with Waverunner's eyes.

Cinderheart's kits were Brackenkit, he was a golden-brown mix, just like Cinderheart's father apparently, and Ashkit, she looked a lot like Cinderheart herself.

"Want to play with us?" A high pitch voice spoke. He turned his head to see Pinekit next to him. Though she was a moon younger than her, she was almost bigger than he was.

Icekit simply shook his eyes. "No thanks Pinekit, though I appreciate the offer."

Her tail dropped, as if she was trying to get him involved.

It was quite early for every cat to be awake. Icekit decided he could look around camp again, or groom his pelt, which was a complete mess from last night.

After a while he decided to groom his pelt. As he rasped his tongue across, he could see his immature littermates roll around in the clearing, still acting like they were four moons old. He was soon satisfied that the parts of his kit fur he had groomed himself were nice and flat.

"All cats old enough to catch their prey meet under the high rock for a Clan meeting!" Bramblestar's voice echoed around the camp.

Why would Bramblestar call a Clan meeting? Icekit wondered.

Briarlight soon rushed into the Nursery.

"Firekit, Thrushkit, Shadekit, and Icekit, get over here!" Briarlight called them over. "Your going to be apprentices today! Your pelts are a mess!" She said quickly grooming Firekit's pelt, which was groaning. She took a look at Icekit. "Your pelt looks fine." She went to the other kits hastily grooming the others.

"Hey Icekit." Pinekit came over to him. "Um… Some of your fur is still sticking up."

Icekit looked back and saw tiny bits of fur sticking up.

"Oh…" He couldn't seem to get those parts as he attempted. Pinekit seemed to giggle. "Well can you get them for me?" He asked Pinekit.

"Sure!" She said happily. Soon enough he felt her tongue rasping on his neck. She seemed to do it carefully.

"All fixed." She smiled at him.

He noticed his pelt was nicely done, rather than his litter mates pelts looked quickly done.

"… Will be naming four new apprentices." That was a que. Icekit remembered it with the last apprentice ceremony, how Dunepaw went out on that que.

Icekit was the first to walk out; his head raised high, then his littermates soon followed, seeming to shrink smaller than him.

"Icekit, Firekit, Thrushkit, and Shadekit, you have reach the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you four shall be known as Icepaw, Firepaw, Thrushpaw, and Shadepaw." Bramblestar looked into the clearing.

"Whitewing, Cloudtail, Rosepetal." He began as the three warriors made it to the clearing. "You three are ready to take on a apprentice, let them be your first or last, and you three have received excellent training mentors, to also show qualities worthy of mentoring." He looked down at each warrior, then apprentice.

"Whitewing, you will be the mentor of Firepaw."

"Cloudtail, you will be the mentor of Thrushpaw."

"Rosepetal you will be the mentor of Shadepaw.'

Icepaw soon noticed something. His littermates got their mentors, yet he was still left mentor-less. _Who will mentor me?_

"I myself will personally mentor Icepaw."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. Icepaw knew that it was not a normal occasion for a leader to assign an apprentice to them.

_Bramblestar as my mentor?_

"I expect you all to pass down all you know to your apprentices."

From the corner of his eye, he saw littermates preparing to touch noses with their new mentors.

Bramblestar come down from the high rock, walking down with leisure. Within a couple of seconds, he was standing in front of Icepaw.

Icepaw saw his soon to be mentor in front of him. Huge scars that weren't there began to appear. Some parts of his fur grew lighter and other parts became darker. Then a V-shape appeared at Bramblestar's ear.

"_You'll never forget me!" _A voice echoed.

Trying not to let his fur spoke up, he hesitantly moved his head towards Bramblestar. He lightly touched noses with his leader. He was now shaking lightly.

"Icepaw! Firepaw! Shadepaw! Thrushpaw!" Clan mates cheered

"Are you alright?" Bramblestar asked, feeling his apprentice trembling."

"F-Fine." He tried to sound calm.

He stopped touching his mentors nose, rushing towards his mother.

"What's wrong?" Briarlight asked, seeing some of her sons fear.

"Did Bramblestar look different up there?" He asked her quickly.

Briarlight shook her head. "No… I have to talk to your father." She rushed over to the medicine cat den.

_Strange… Mama has never acted like that._

"Do you want to go around the Territory? I mean you were in a rush to leave the camp a moon ago." Bramblestar asked his apprentice.

He observed Bramblestar carefully. He looked normal now, but before… that wasn't Bramblestar.

He decided to shake off his superstitions.

"Sure Bramblestar." He said, still startled from what had just happened.

"Bramblestar!" He heard his father call out. "Come over here."

"One moment Icepaw." Bramblestar said, rushing over to Jayfeather.

"Well well well. _Tiny_paw got the leader as his mentor. Does that make you feel big?" Firepaw sneered.

"Shut it." Icepaw said, slowly walking away.

"Congratulations!" He heard a friendly voice say.

"Dunepaw!" Icepaw spoke with a smile stretching on his face.

"Now we will be able to train together!" Dunepaw said happily. "I already made nests for you four!" He saw his friend bounce with excitement.

Icepaw looked at the Nursery, and saw Pinekit. She was smiling, and then she went back inside. Icepaw would've spent more time pondering if Bramblestar had not called him.

"Let's go Icepaw!"

He hesitantly went towards Bramblestar, who was waiting at the camp entrance.

"So how much did you explore last time you went out?" Bramblestar asked Icepaw.

"Up to the giant tree." Icepaw replied timidly.

"Ah, so the Sky Oak?" Bramblestar said. "That's quite the distance. Right now we are headed to the Shadowclan border." He said. "Do not cross the border, unless you plan on getting in trouble."

Icepaw nodded. He could smell the marsh the closer and closer he got to the border. The scent of Shadowclan felt so familiar, as if he had smelt it before.

"I know its not the best smell, but this old road is what separates our borders from theirs." Bramblestar explained. "We will go to the Windclan border now if you're up for it." He said. "Ill also show you the Training clearing if you want."

His mind filled up with thoughts as he walked along side his mentor.

"What seemed to scare you when you where up there during the ceremony?" He heard his mentor ask. "You looked at me, and you suddenly filled with fear."

"Um… well it isn't everyday that someone is apprenticed to the leader." Icepaw said quickly.

"Most apprentices were actually quite happy… including me. You on the other hand, it seemed like you had just seen a ghost."

"Its nothing…" Icepaw said, trying to cover the fact of what he said. He saw Bramblestar's eyes narrow.

"If you say so." Bramblestar shrugged. "Lets go to the Windclan border."

They walked through bushes and grass everywhere. The sun was starting to fall as they got to the Windclan border.

The scent of heather filled his nose. It didn't smell good, but it didn't smell as bad as the marsh had.

"Here is the Windclan Border. This stream separates our territory with Windclan's. Up this stream is where cats go share tongues with our ancestors in Starclan."

"Starclan." He said under his breath. He has heard this word before, not from elder's tales, but somewhere completely different. He couldn't put his tongue on where he had heard it.

"Well that's all you really need to know about this border." Bramblestar said.

Icepaw looked around, and he didn't even realize how tired he was.

"Are you tired?" Bramblestar asked. "I would expect you to be a bit since Thunderclan is huge."

Icepaw nodded.

"Well let's head back to camp." Bramblestar said. "Tomorrow I will teach you to hunt."

So they walked back to camp and Icepaw saw the senior apprentices look at him.

"So your the first one back!" Dunepaw ran up to his friend. "How do you feel being an apprentice?"

"Tired." Icepaw nudged his friend jokingly. "I'm going to nap." He said with a yawn.

"I see exploring has you tired, well don't worry, you'll get used to it."

Icepaw rolled his eyes.

"Wake me up if anything interesting happens." He told Dunepaw.

Icepaw closed his eyes and soon woke up in the forest that looked so ever dark.

"_I see you are now an apprentice, and I wish to congratulate you." Breezepelt bubbled up from the ground._

"_Thank you Breezepelt." Icepaw said._

"_Now it is time for you to choose. You can remain as you are, with out my aid and stay weak, or if you choose to train with me, you will grow stronger with every passing day._

_Icepaw was about to reply when Breezepelt cut him off._

"_But if you do choose to train with me, I expect you to train hard, as I want to make you the strongest."_

_He can make me Strong! Stronger than my littermates!_

"_I accept your offer Breezepelt."_

* * *

_**Well I can see a lot of you may have already anticipated the move that Icepaw was planning, so this is when the story could get interesting. I hope you liked this chapter :3**_

_**Well Before I sign off time for the Question of the Day!**_

_**Who was personally your favorite leader!**_

_**Mine was Tallstar! He had an interesting backstory on to finding out where his loyalties lied, by actually leaving his clan like a renegade!**_

_**If you want to suggest questions for me to ask everyone else, send a review or PM.**_

_**Review if you have something to say, follow and favorite if you want to see more, I will be doing other things for now!**_

_**Talon**_


	3. III: A Gathering

_**A Gathering**_

_**Sorry if this is one of the shorter chapters, but hey, here is another chapter! I will be responding to reviews now!**_

_**AutumnstripeOlympus: I like Blackstar, even if he was kind of bad at times… and thanks for loving my story :3**_

_**Sunnypelt: Tallstar is my fav :3**_

_**Hortaru Hyuuga: I like Mistystar, she is aiming for peace and all, and her backstory with being half clan was great :3 Don't be such a spoiler even if it was that obvious … gosh 0_0**_

_**Spottedmist: Firestar and Bluestar are great leaders, but Tallstar was always my fav**_

_**Guest (Tigerstar dead): He is still very dead, it was Icepaw remembering Tigerstar, because Scourge "would never forget him." Also Firepaw is such a bully because Scourge had mean littermates. I liked Crookedstar also :3**_

_**Well if that is all, I will continue on with the story!**_

* * *

Tonight was the night of the gathering.

Icepaw was excited for this, as he had been training all day and night for the most part. Icepaw was getting stronger, faster, and most of all smarter.

With each paw step, he could see his muscles a bit, and he couldn't help but grin. _I guess the rewards of sparring with a cat twice my size._

He soon felt a pelt brush beside his. His pale blue eyes darted towards it.

"So how has your training been Icepaw?" Pinepaw asked. She had only started her training less than a half moon ago.

"Training has been good." Icepaw simply said. "How has yours been?"

"Birchfall is a good teacher, and all, but training is so exhausting!" She seemed to over exaggerate the last word, giving a smile at the end.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, until Pinepaw broke the ice.

"So are you mooning over anyone?"

This question had completely caught him off guard, and hit him harder than any training session.

"Well… no actually." He said. Why would she ask him this question?

"I guess that's fine… after all you have moons to decide over who to moon over."

Acornpaw ran up to them.

"Are you two excited for your first gathering?"

Pinepaw nodded vigorously, yet Icepaw shrugged.

"Oh lighten up Mr. Serious!" Acornpaw gave him a nudge, as if she was trying to get him away from Pinepaw.

He looked over at Pinepaw, who was getting closer.

Icepaw soon realized he needed to get away from the she cats or he be squashed by both of them.

"I'm going to go talk to Smokepaw!" He quickly said, running over to the gray and white she cat.

"Hello Smokepaw." Icepaw said, looking back making sure that Pinepaw and Acornpaw had not followed him.

"Oh didn't see you there Icepaw." She said. "So how have you been?"

"Good good." Icepaw. "So how do gatherings usually go?"

"For the most part, they are generally peaceful, um, you get to make friends, that kind of stuff." She said. "You also get to hear how the other clans are doing, of course most of the clans lie about their conditions, in the act of not wanting to look weak." Smokepaw said.

"Interesting." Icepaw said thoughtfully.

"Oh look there's the log bridge!" Smokepaw said starting to move faster.

The scents of heather, marsh, and fish seemed to fill his nose up, as they got closer and closer.

"First time apprentices wait." Bramblestar said. "The others can go first."

The warriors, with Acornpaw and Smokepaw went onto the log bridge, one by one.

"I know you would want to have fun at your first gathering, but please behave yourself. Also mingle with the other cats, but do not give out to much information about our clan lifestyle." Bramblestar said.

Icepaw nodded, and the others did too.

He hopped onto the log bridge. The wooden feeling felt so familiar, as if it was smooth wood. Disregarding it, he continued to walk.

Hopping off at the other side, his eyes widened at the sight of so many cats.

And i thought Thunderclan was big!

He seemed so small compared to all these cats; some nearing three times his size!

"Your quite small for an apprentice1" The scent of heather filled the air.

He turned his head to see a heather colored cat with a dappled pelt.

"Yes, i known but a warrior uses claws and wits, not size."

"I guess your right." She spoke. "I'm Spottedpaw, and you are?"

"I'm Icepaw." He said. "I'm guessing your named Spottedpaw because of your pelt?"

"Is it that obvious?" She said sarcastically. "And I'm going to guess that you're named Icepaw for your eyes?"

"Really?" He asked jokingly. "Well that's something I would've never knew."

They were both chuckling, and somewhat moving closer to each other.

"Who are you?" A growl that could be considerably hostile could be heard. Icepaw turned around and saw a tom with a black pelt, and gray streaks everywhere. His seemed to be straining in order for his claws not to unsheathe themselves.

"Oh calm down Clawpaw." she said. "We are at a gathering, not a battle."

"All it takes is a gathering to spark a battle." Clawpaw was still growling.

"Excuse my brother." Another apprentice ran in. "I'm Blackpaw." Icepaw observed the tom. He was a full gray with a mottled with black. "My brother here is quick to anger, you should go talk to Riverclan or something." His voice held a warning inside it.

He walked up to Spottedpaw. "Lets talk next time we meet." She seemed to smile and nodded. He looked at Clawpaw, whose amber eyes were looking suspiciously at him.

He turned away and walked over to a group a Riverclan apprentices.

"Hello." He said calmly. The apprentices looked down at him.

"My Starclan your small!" One with a solid gray pelt said.

A fully silver apprentice looked at the gray one. "So are your claws!"

"Mind my manners I'm Smallpaw, and my sister here is Codpaw."

"_Small_paw?" Icepaw said, looking at him. This tom was everything but small.

"Yes Yes." He unsheathed his claws, where they didn't even touch the ground. "Sometimes i get made fun of it." He said looking at his sister.

He looked at his claws. A faint white extension seemed to hover over those pathetically small claws.

"You could always reinforce them." Icepaw suggested.

"Why would I do that?" Smallpaw said. "That would feel so… weird and unnatural."

"Just a suggestion." Icepaw shrugged.

"The gathering will commence!" A voice called out.

Cats started to look up, and soon enough he saw 3 different leaders standing next to Bramblestar.

"Which leader is which?" He whispered to Smallpaw.

"This you're first gathering?" He asked. Icepaw nodded.

"Ill begin." A lithe ginger tom spoke.

"That there is Rowanstar." Smallpaw whispered. "His deputy is Owlclaw over there." Icepaw studied Owlclaw. He was light brown and had a pelt he might as well have seen before.

"There is Onestar, sitting next to Rowanstar, and his deputy Harespring is three cats in front of you." Icepaw looked at the Windclan leader, who had a light brown mottled pelt and his deputy was brown and white.

"And the one next to Bramblestar is my leader, Mistystar, with Reedwhisker." Icepaw looked over towards Bramblestar and saw the leader with a sleek gray fur. Her deputy was a full black.

_She's quite old. _He thought to himself

"We also have new apprentices, whom we've brought." Bramblestar's said. "Icepaw, Firepaw, Thrushpaw, Shadepaw, Pinepaw and Thistlepaw."

Most of the cats took a look around. He felt some gazes upon him, some filled with welcome, and others filled with uneasiness.

He looked at the leaders. Mistystar and Onestar seemed gaze seemed in a disturbed manor, but then settled out.

"If that is all, this gathering is over!" Onestar said, as if he was trying to get out.

Most cats began to scatter, going with their respective clans.

"Well it was nice meeting you Icepaw." Smallpaw said.

Icepaw nodded. "As it was meeting you." He proceeded to walk towards the area where Thunderclan cats were amassing.

"Ok that's everyone Bramblestar." Squirrelflight told him.

"Alright, lets get moving." Bramblestar went towards Icepaw.

"Did you enjoy the gathering?" He asked, with a smile on his face.

Icepaw nodded.

"Well get some rest, you are going to be on the dawn patrol, and then we will train when you get back."

He nodded, but on the inside, he was complaining.

He looked to the left, and saw his littermates talking with each other. It didn't bother him that they were speaking without him, as he had grown quite used to it. To the right he saw Pinepaw, Acornpaw and Smokepaw talking to each other. He smiled, as he did have a great time, meeting new cats, but still had to ponder why this did he see the white outlines around Smallpaw's claws.

With all his thinking and stuff he did not realize that they were at Thunderclan camp when he snapped out of his trail of thought.

Feeling tired, he went to the moss nest and soon enough, he was in a deep sleep.

He awoke in the all to familiar scent of the forest.

"_Well it seems like you have been having a great time."_

_Icepaw's face grew serious._

"_No matter. The night is still young, and we will train more." _

_Icepaw studied Breezepelt's stance. Too calm… Too unusual._

_Icepaw got into a defensive stance._

_Breezepelt chuckled. " I see you've learned when I want to spar."_

_Soon enough Breezepelt threw himself towards Icepaw, who quickly evaded his attack._

_He saw Breezepelt's claws were unsheathed. This was the first time he was doing it._

_Icepaw quickly unsheathed his claws. Better be careful._

_Icepaw stood fast as Breezepelt Charged him again, this time, tearing a part of his left ear._

_Blood came out, and the scent seemed all too familiar, yet this was the first time he was ever scenting blood. His irises narrowed, and a sinister smile grew on his face._

_Icepaw let his lust for blood control his flow, his movement. Dodging swipe after swipe, Breezepelt soon charged him, only to get clawed at the forehead._

_Breezepelt recoiled, and soon after, Icepaw felt the lust for blood that was once inside of him dissipate._

_Breezepelt must have noticed this sudden change, as he pinned Icepaw down._

"_Its good to see you share the same lust for blood." Breezepelt said, with a smile. "But you still have much to learn._

_Icepaw couldn't help but think what just happened. Then words came to his head, as if they were his own._

_Blood is everything._

* * *

_**I so love dropping subtle hints of his old life, but still, tell me what you think of this chapter!**_

_**Also a Question for you to think about!**_

**_Name one of your favorite cat and try to describe what would they sound like (You can also compare them to TV/Movie characters if you like :3) To me, Tallstar would sound like Yu from Rush hour 3 at his oldest XD_**

**_Well if you like this chapter, review, if you love this story, follow and I will see you the next time i write a chapter!_**

**_Talon_**


	4. IV:Skirmish

_**The Skirmish**_

_**Well I quite enjoyed writing and editing this chapter a lot. Well time to respond to reviews.**_

_**Spottedmist: This is a romance; every she-cat and tom is fair game for shipping XD**_

_**Hotaru Hyuuga: Ah yes, Mapleshade, I could image her as ursla from TLMM XD and its ok about dem spoliers XD**_

_**AutumnstripeOlympus: I guess that makes sense XD**_

_**Guest (Breezepelt knows?): I don't think he 100% knows, but at the same time, he has a hunch, or else why would he take Icepaw as a Dark forest Trainee hmm…**_

_**Lightstar and Darkstar: I loved those leaders too, and I had kinda would image Foxleap sounding like that if the Erins didn't (SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVENT READ LAST HOPE) kill him. Grumble grumble.**_

_**Well reviews have been answered, and time for the show to go on!**_

* * *

Icepaw woke up with the tear in his ear. Blood seeped out of the wound, and he moved his head. He woke up and saw Dewstream.

"Before you go on the patrol, you should get that checked out." He advised, heading towards his apprentice, Pinepaw, whose chest was rising up and down peacefully.

Icepaw stretched, still feeling sore from his spar, and training session with Breezepelt, wherever they trained.

He sluggishly walked over to his father's den.

"Dad!" He called out in the medicine cat's den. He rolled his pale blue eyes when there was no response. "Ma!" He called out; soon enough, they appeared groggily.

Briarlight eyes widened in surprise. "What happened to you?" She rushed up to him, licking his ear, cleaning up his blood that was welling.

"Thorn pierce my ear during the night, when I woke up, I moved my head back to quickly." Icepaw said the excuse fluently, no stutters as he lied in front of his parents.

Jayfeather narrowed his blind eyes, looking in his general. "Are you sure? That seems quite bad for a thorn."

_Was my father suspicious?_ He thought. "I'm sure it was a thorn." He said calmly, not showing any signs of worry.

"Ok then. Let me put a little bit of cobwebs on, and you should be ready to go." Jayfeather said. "Try not to let this happen again, or you'll end up with ears like Ivypool."

Icepaw nodded. _No promises_. He couldn't help but think as the cobwebs were put on his ears to stay the bleeding. He felt the cobwebs get snug on his ears.

"Thanks." Icepaw quickly ran out to avoid further questioning from either of his parents.

He ran up to Squirrelflight who was leading the patrol, to report in.

"Ill be supervising you on this patrol." She said. "Bramblestar will be waiting for you at the Training clearing once we get back from our patrol."

Pinepaw walked up beside Icepaw. Curiosity lit her eyes as she looked at him. "What happened to your ear?"

"Alright that's everyone for the patrol. Lets move!" Squirrelflight said, starting to walk out with all the other senior warriors.

"A thorn." Icepaw simply said, starting to walk ahead of her, leaving the camp in Windclan's general direction.

She sped up to catch up to him. "So what are you going to do later?"

"Train, maybe hunt, then rest, then train some more." Icepaw said.

"Is that all you think of?" She asked. "Not even two moons into your training, yet you don't think of anything but training?"

"I train to become strong, to rise above the others."

"But why?" She asked. "Are you trying to impress a she cat?" She said slyly.

His entire serious composition completely broke.

"What? No! Why would I try to I'm-" He was blushing, and his pelt was heating up, and he couldn't stop stammering. Then Pinepaw's playful tone interrupted him.

"Calm down, I'm only playing around." She chuckled, looking at him with her emerald green eyes.

"Oh ha ha ha." Icepaw rolled his eyes and sarcastically laughed. Soon enough he nudged her to the left.

She proceeded to retaliate, and nudged him to the right, a bit harder than before. Icepaw was about to push her into the bush into his left, that was until Squirrelflight spoke.

"We're here to patrol, not to play." Squirrelflight said sternly.

Icepaw looked back and saw the whole patrol chuckling, some were talking to each other in that all too familiar gossipy way.

_Mouse dung! Now they will all think that I'm mooning over her!_

"Sorry Squirrelflight." Icepaw said, with his eyes meeting the deputy's.

"Its fine to have fun, trust me, it happened a lot when me and Bramblestar were young paws, but for now we are on a patrol." She simply said.

He was about to say something else, but then Squirrelflight turned her back, indicating she was done talking.

They walked a bit more; it was silent for a moment or two, nothing really interesting was happening nearing the border.

"This is so boring, I mean-" Pinepaw was cut off by Icepaw, who put his jet-black tail up. He dropped to a hunting crouch and went over to the rustling grass just barely on their side of the border.

Soon enough, a white hare, with huge beady eyes appeared. _Must've been run over here by Windclan. No matter, its Thunderclan's now._

With a swift pounce, he got onto the rabbits back, and took a huge bite into the back of its neck. It gave a squeak of pain, soon going limp on the ground.

"That's a huge catch Icepaw!" Pinepaw said, her eyes widening with astonishment.

Icepaw was wondering what she was talking about. He looked at the hare closely, and it was nearing two or even maybe three times his size!_ This would feed the elders._ He said with a smile of joy spread across his face,

Squirrelflight padded over. "Well done on your catch Icepaw." She said. "Do you want some cat to carry that for you?"

"I can carry it!" Icepaw said proudly. He tried to even drag it, but resulted in failure. Pinepaw chuckled just looking at him attempt to pick it up.

"It looks like I could use some help..." He trailed off in embarrassment, looking down at the ground,

"Don't be embarrassed to ask for help, we are all here to help each other. We aren't a clan for nothing." She said smiling, and then patted him on the head with her tail.

Icepaw smiled, then he heard a yowl of anger, and it was getting closer and closer.

"How dare you take a rabbit from our territory you rabbit stealers!"

It was Clawpaw running straight towards him.

"Clawpaw get back over here this instant!" An older voice could be heard.

"Oatfur, this _little_ apprentice has stolen prey from us!" He said. "We need to teach this _little_ rabbit stealer a lesson!"

Icepaw felt very offended at Clawpaw calling him little, and his accusations of him stealing the rabbit.

"_Little_?" Icepaw said, angrily, and his fur visibly bristling, and his claws unsheathing.

"I said _little_. What are you going to do about it?" Clawpaw's growl filled with anger and his claws fully extended.

_Don't let him get away with this…_ A voice was carried with the breeze.

Icepaw didn't have to listen to that voice to act.

He flung himself at the older and bigger apprentice, yowling in anger and rage. Some of Thunderclan's warriors gasped, for they worried for Icepaw's safety.

Icepaw managed to claw at Clawpaw's ear, putting a nick nearing the bottom, and causing him pain.

Clawpaw's amber eyes radiated with the, and with a swift swipe, cutting him mildly on his shoulder.

Blood of his own was drawn, and the larger scent of blood filled his nose.

Icepaw's icy pale blue eyes became visible as his irises became into slits, and a sinister smile grin grew on his face, somewhat exposing his teeth.

Clawpaw snarled at him, and soon charged him. Swiftly as Clawpaw ran, Icepaw dodged his attack, and lightly dragged his claws along his back.

Some of the Thunderclan cats wanted to intervene, but at the same time the cats wanted to see how this played out. Pinepaw watched with worry in her eyes.

Clawpaw's face grew with immense rage, and hate. Clawpaw charged Icepaw again. This time Icepaw knew what to do. He clawed at his face, using a counterattack he learned from one of his sessions with Breezepelt, giving him a light cut at his nose.

Clawpaw drew back, yowling in the clear pain. Icepaw took advantage of that moment, and pushed Clawpaw down, making him lopsided, exposing his underbelly, and put his paw at his throat, another method Breezepelt taught him to immobilize an enemy.

"Never call me little again." Icepaw said coldly, emotionlessly staring into Clawpaw's amber eyes. "Got that?"

"How about you eat crow—" Clawpaw tried to retort at Icepaw, who proceeded to pushed his paw at his throat, cutting him off.

"I said got that?"

Clawpaw's eyes that were filled with once rage and hatred soon filled with terror and fear. He was trembling heavily now, trying to gasp for air, and Icepaw gave a manically smile.

"Stop it Icepaw!" He heard a voice yowl at him. It was filled with fear.

It was Pinepaw. Her voice managed to pierce through his trance.

What was he doing? Why was he doing this, harming another apprentice, making him fear for his life?

His fur started to lower, his claws became sheathed as he quickly went into a non-hostile stance. He lessened his grip on his neck.

Icepaw got off of Clawpaw, who started to wheeze for air.

"I'm- I'm s-so sorry…" He said as if it was whisper. "I don't know what came over me."

Clawpaw was trembling with fear, and now was cowering behind his mentor. Clawpaw's wounds clearly visible, dripping blood off his pelt. He tried to look at Clawpaw with sincerity, but Clawpaw simply looked down, with terror.

"That's no apprentice… that's a monster!" Oatfur exclaimed at Icepaw. He soon carried his apprentice on his back, and rushed back into the direction of their camp.

Icepaw looked around, and saw faces of astonishment and surprise. These faces were not filled with pride and honor for the victor; no… they were filled with fear. Icepaw could no longer take the many gazes from them all, and proceeded to run from the scene.

"Icepaw wait!" Pinepaw's call grew fainter and fainter.

_"You did a excellent job…"_ Breezepelt's faint voice could be heard.

"A excellent job?" Icepaw echoed himself, shocked. "I nearly killed him!"

"_Yes, but he was too proud of himself, and to go a step further he accused you of crimes you had never did. You were just in every reason that fight occurred."_

"But I shouldn't have done what I did, I mean to nearly kill him…" Icepaw trailed off, someone scolding himself.

"_You simply acted to protect your honor, and for your excellent performance, I will reward you with a night of rest."_

_That fight didn't seem to be an honorable fight… _Icepaw thought.

The breeze seemed to calm down, and faded away as a voice came into earshot.

"Icepaw!" A cat called out. He turned to see it was Pinepaw. "Squirrelflight sent me to see if you were alright."

"I'm fine." He said, with his wound clearly exposed to her.

"No your not. Come on, let's get you to Jayfeather and Briarlight, they'll make you better." She said, soon licking his wounds to clean them.

Icepaw was about to argue, but then she started to lightly push him towards the direction of camp.

_What took over me?_ Icepaw had to ponder.

He looked at the fresh claw mark on his shoulder. It was medium sized, and blood welled up.

He soon felt his vision flicker black, and then a bright light seemingly blinded him.

_Was this a vision from Starclan? No… it seemed to real to even be considered a vision_.

He was sitting on top of a metal tree stump, black top and greenish bark on it, and he was looking down at two cats, who where frail, one who was fully gray, and the other was a mix of white and black. He soon enough looked down at his claws, which were extremely longer than usual. He looked to the left, and saw a cat that seemed to be a friend, but his multi-colored collar was studded with teeth and bones. He felt his neck feel a bit choked when he realized that he was also wearing a collar like his. He wanted to say his name, but simply decided not to act on saying it. Looking back down at the cats, a sense of rage seemed to bubble up in his chest.

He could only make out a few words from what he seemingly spoke.

_Blood is everything._

* * *

_**Well this chapter got interesting if I do say so myself :D**_

_**Time for the Question: Who do you think deserved a better death/mate/warrior name/ whatever you can come up with. I think that Brokenstar deserved a better death, I mean come on, his mother killed him 3 times!**_

_**A thing about myself: I LOVE coffee, and it is my favorite drink ever!**_

_**Well if you liked this chapter, review, it gives me motivation, but refrain from review spamming XD, and if you want to see more, follow and favorite!**_

_**Talon**_


	5. V: Admirers and Secrets

_**Admirers and Secrets**_

_**OK So I got news that there WILL be another story arc, occurring 6 moons after Bramblestars storm, and I'm excited that Erin hunter has decided to keep the series going. Well time to respond to reviews.**_

_**Friendlylittlespark8: Thanks for the complement, and I will keep going :3**_

_**Spottedmist: Icepaw is very will in may ways is and isn't pulling an Ivypool. Youll see in the later chapters.**_

_**AutumnstripeOlympus: I see a lot of the fandom hates on mille, but I seem to have a fondness for her :3**_

_**Guest(Icepaw's love life) : You'll have to find out yourself . and also agree with most of your statements.**_

_**SilverStormyWolf: I plan on making it a lengthy chapter, and it will probably be a multi perspective one :3 And also**_

_**Kiwi: He does in fact! I plan on incorporating the admirers in later chapters :3 And your ship is completely fine by my standards, as I already made a shipping chart for this story :3**_

_**Sunnypelt: I agree with Crookedstar, but I felt Brokenstars name suited him because Yellowfang broke her families heart by letting him get raised by another cat.**_

_**Lightstar and Darkstar: I agree with the first, and the second one I kinda disagree, but hey, its your opinion, and I cant take that away from you :D**_

_**If that is all, let the chapter roll!**_

* * *

What is wrong with him? Pinepaw wondered to herself as Pinepaw walked. The wound on his side was lightly bleeding, yet he showed no signs of pain. Was he hiding it?

"How are you feeling?" She asked, still walking alongside him.

"Fine." He said quietly. He was starting to show a limp.

She knew he was everything but fine at this point. He nearly killed another apprentice, let alone one two times his size.

But it didn't seem like him. His movements, his attacks. They seem like something had taken over him. That wasn't Icepaw fighting, but only Starclan knows… She thought.

Soon enough, they reached camp.

"What happened?" Briarlight ran out to her kit." Who did this?" She said sniffing Icepaw's wound, somewhat distressed.

"Briarlight, Icepaw is in a better condition than the apprentice he fought." She told her.

"A fight?" Briarlight said shocked, her eyes soon landing onto Icepaw.

"I had caught a hare on our side of our border, but then a apprentice i met yesterday at the gathering accused us of stealing prey." He began. "I threw myself at him, clawing his ear, then he gave me that mark." He said, pointing his muzzle at his wound. "I could see everything I was doing, but I had no control."

Briarlight looked worried. "Well I'm just glad this isn't worse. Lets get you to the medicine cat den." She led her kit to the den.

Pinepaw had begun to trail behind them, and then Briarlight turned around.

"Can you please wait outside, I don't like have cats hovering around when I work." She said.

Her tail drooped as she nodded. She sat herself down at the entrance of the den.

"So what happened to _Tiny_paw." Firepaw's familiar voice sneered, looking at Pinepaw.

"He got into a fight." She said, still peaking her head into the den ever moment or two.

"I bet _Tiny_paw lost." He was snickering now. Why does he always have to make fun of his own brother? She wondered.

"He couldn't defend himself from a kittypet if one came into camp and laid down in front of him."

Pinepaw had enough of this. "Stop so mean to your own brother!" She snarled in his face. She seemed to flinch back, "And you know what? He won that fight!" She said stomping off.

She stomped off towards the apprentice den, and pouted_. Firepaw is so… so immature!_

"What happened out there?" Creampaw asked, licking her paw.

"Firepaw was being mean to his brother again."

"Oh." Creampaw looked relieved as she gazed intently at Firepaw. She positioned her head to look at Creampaw's eye level, and saw she was intently looking at his orange pelt, and how it shone in the sunlight, were he was. She then gave a huge grin.

"Oh my Starclan! Are you really mooning over Firepaw?"

"No!" She said quickly, sitting up straight. "I'm not mooning over him!" She said it defensively, but also in a manor that made it quite obvious.

"Sure." She sarcastically said.

"I hear talk of mooning cats!" Smokepaw walked in with Ashpaw.

_Oh great… _Pinepaw thought. _They are going to try to pry who I'm mooning over!_

"Ok who wants to start?" Smokepaw lowered her tone.

"I will." Ashpaw said. "Well the only tom I think is adorable is Sunpaw."

The shocked look on Smokepaw's face was almost too funny. "You're mooning over my brother?" The astonishment in her voice. "My Starclan."

"Well who are you mooning over Smokepaw?" Ashpaw said, shuffling her paws in the embarrassment.

"Well I'm mooning over…" She peaked out of the apprentice den to make sure if the tom wasn't around. "Snowcloud." She said, sighing dreamily at the end.

"Snowcloud? As in your mentor? He's way older than you!" Pinepaw realized that this conversation was engulfing her.

"I know, I know." She covered her paws with her tail. "But for me, he's strong, his pelt is a silky as sheep's wool, and his eyes of amber, they are like cat mint to me…" She trailed off getting more and more happy when she spoke. "Well bottom line just to be with him would make me like the happiness she cat ever!"

"Well what about you Creampaw?" Smokepaw asked. "Don't think because we are sharing secrets doesn't mean that you are excused.

"Well I am mooning over Fi…." She got quieter as she didn't want them to know.

"What was that?" Ashpaw looked at her.

"I am mooning over Firepaw." She said louder. "I just love his features, and his personality is so confident! So bold!"

Pinepaw rolled her eyes. Not the Firepaw i know.

"Well now its time for Pinepaw. Whom are you mooning over?"

_Fox dung!_ She thought to herself.

"Well I'm mooning over a tom." She said, with the complete intention of stalling them.

"Which one?" Ashpaw was flicking her ears in suspense.

"Well if you must know…" She took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm mooning over —" She was cut off as she heard a voice call out.

"Pinepaw?" It was Dewstream. He poked his head into the apprentice den. "Lets go hunt, the elders have been feed already, and we still need to hunt for everyone else."

"Ok then!" She sighed with relief as she rushed out of the apprentice den. What a strike of luck!

"How is Icepaw?" He asked her. "Is he doing better since the patrol?"

"I don't know. He should be fine now." She said, not knowing if Icepaw was fine.

"Well if you want, Ill give you a moment or two to check up on him if you want."

She almost felt her heart soar.

"Thank you!" She nuzzled her mentor's shoulder. He seemed a bit taken back, and surprised. She soon ran off to the medicine cat's den.

She peaked her head into the medicine cat den. Briarlight turned around and saw her immediately.

"Hello, are you here to check up on Icepaw?" She asked her.

"Um… yes I am." She said. "How else did you know?"

"Well I don't think your hurt now are you." She said with a warm smile. Does she know? "Anyways don't make it too long, I want him to rest."

She nodded and peered into the section were injured cats rest. He was curled up in the nest, and his eyes closed. Was he sleeping?

"Are you just going to stand there?" He said, his eyes still closed.

This surprised her a bit. "Um hi Icepaw." She said, getting closer to him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling a bit chilly." He admitted. "Can you help me get out of the den so I can lay in the sun? Briarlight won't let me leave, even though I have these cobwebs on my side."

She wondered were they could go if she was to help him go. Close enough to the medicine cat den, yet far enough into the sun. The stick of the Fallen! It had been put up in front of the medicine cat's den.

"We could go to the Stick of the Fallen." She said. He nodded and got up. He was somewhat wobbly, and then she allowed him to lean on her.

He smiled, and he put some of his weight on her. This wasn't the side that was fighting, this Icepaw is all happy and carefree, and so what was controlling him? She had to ponder once more.

"Where are you going?" Briarlight stood in front of the den entrance.

"Ma, we are only going to the Stick of the Fallen." He told his mother.

She looked hesitant. But at last, she moved out of the way. Pinepaw smiled as she helped Icepaw get out of the medicine cat den. Within a few seconds, they were at the Stick of the Fallen.

Icepaw seemed to focus on the huge claw mark on it, which was purposely positioned on the top.

"Do you know who the long claw mark symbolizes?"

Jayfeather was sitting behind them, seemingly looking in the direction that the claw mark was.

"He had a ginger pelt and emerald eyes."

Pinepaw was left stumped. Ginger pelt and emerald eyes?

"That was Firestar." Icepaw said. "He was crowned the Hero of the Battle against Bloodclan after he killed their leader right?"

"And who was their leader?" Jayfeather asked again.

She looked at Icepaw who was thinking hard. His face soon brightened.

"It was Scourge! His deputy was Bone right?"

"I don't remember any of the elder tales telling you that." Jayfeather said slyly.

He seemed confused. "Ill let you ponder this." Jayfeather said walking away, soon exciting the camp.

"That was weird?" Icepaw said, somewhat perplexed.

"Oh that brings me to another question, you want me to catch you something?"

"If you catch anything?" He playfully nudged her.

"If I catch anything, would you want a mouse or vole?"

"Anything would be nice." He looked quite pleased and gracious for her offer.

"Hurry up Pinepaw, we are burning daylight!" Dewstream called out.

"Ill be back." She gave a smile, and licked his torn ear, soon padding quickly to her mentor.

"Lets get going, we will be able to catch prey for the rest of the clan." Dewstream said, starting to walk out of camp.

She walked beside her mentor, not noticing that they were walking closer to the Shadowclan border.

"I can see you really enjoy Icepaw's company." Dewstream said calmly, with and with an almost hidden hint of disappointment.

"What do you mean?" She asked, wondering the true meaning of what he said.

"You've made it quite obvious for everyone to know that your mooning Icepaw." He said.

She paused. _Did the other apprentices see me?_

"Well that's none of my business, as we are here to hunt." He jumped onto a branch. "If you need me, I'm a jump away."

She purred in amusement, and he gave a smile.

She tasted the air, and she could taste the training clearing from here, as ferns grew quite commonly there. She went into a hunting crouch, and she heard rustling.

She went towards the rustling, walking through a patch of lavender.

"So we know that Icepaw is the Ice, that leaves the friendships, the love, and the violent breezes."

"Are you sure he is the Ice that is colder than Leafbare?" She heard a voice. _Bramblestar?_

"I'm sure." An eerily calm voice said. "It's only a matter of time before it shows more and more." It sounded a lot like Jayfeather. "He knew about Bloodclan's deputy, and he knew that it was Scourge and a cat named Bone who led the battle. I went to the elders every day to make sure that they wouldn't mention the names. His knowledge proves more than you think."

_The Ice? The Battle of Bloodclan. That's why Jayfeather was asking those questions_!

Jayfeather continued to speak. "Elder came to me in a dream telling me that Scourge himself was proud, and for the most part when anyone taunted him, he would kill them. So this apprentice called him 'little', angering both Icepaw and that monster."

"Is there a way to remove that monster inside him?" Bramblestar asked. "I would hate it if he was to go on a blood crazed massacre for what happened so many seasons ago."

"If there was, I would've already done it." Jayfeather said. "But I will make sure i get that monster out of my son."

"Well we have too before it gets worse. That Windclan apprentice was lucky enough that Icepaw wasn't fully controlled by that monster."

"But we also need to figure out what triggered the sudden aggressiveness too, his sudden want to kill." He then sighed. "He also woke up with scars just like Ivypool did. I fear he may be walking the Place of No Stars."

"It is too soon to tell if he does Jayfeather, don't start fretting too much." Bramblestar said calmly. "But for next time I will not leave him alone to be supervised by anyone but me." Bramblestar told Jayfeather. "Now lets get back to camp." She heard Jayfeather and Bramblestar's paw steps grow lighter and lighter.

Pinepaw felt so confused, not knowing the entire story of what was happening.

She could only wish that she could aid Icepaw anyway she could now.

* * *

_**Well well well, what did you think of this chapter! Do you think that Pinepaw will be telling Icepaw? Do you think she cats will mob the unsuspecting Icepaw? And when do you think Icepaw will find out he is Scourge? All these questions will be answered in later chapters!**_

_**Now is the time for the questions for you! What are your feelings that the 6**__**th**__** story arc is coming out? I'm feeling hyped for it and plan on buying all the books!**_

_**Well if you want to, leave a review, it's always great to have motivation. If you want to see more, favorite and follow, now peace out!**_

_**Talon**_


	6. VI: Past and Present

**Past and Present**

**Well I liked the reviews yall left me, and I will answer them.**

**Autumnstripe: Thanks for the nice review :3 **

**Guest (Cinderheart Talking to Icepaw): I think his Dark Forest problem is a bit bigger than his identity crisis, but that doesn't mean I wont take that advice into consideration :3**

**Hotaru: Possibly, but im still keeping my hype :3**

**Spottedmist: If I had to describe Pinepaw, she's more reserved, and indirect since of her current age. Also she doesn't know about the Place of no stars.**

**Sunnypelt: Stay hyped my friend :3**

**Timberfrost: Aw thanks man, its great for me to know that you and others enjoy my story :3 Also if you want to help, you can put suggestions of what you think what could possibly happen in the story, this goes for everyone ;3**

**Kiwi: I was about to make her reveal it to him, but then I saw your review and was like "That's so true". Also some forbidden loves are quite cute and ironically they happen faster than socially legitimate ones.**

**Lightstar and Darkstar: From the story so far, this chapter may reveal a little, but Pinepaw is crushing over Icepaw cause he seems to be super mature at his age, but she doesn't want to tell him. Icepaw doesn't seem to notice her ****yet…**

**Also I am going to stop posting chapters so frequently, and start posting them semi-frequently because if I posted them to much, it would drain most of my ideas :3**

**If that is all, then get ready for this chapter of A HEART SO COLD!**

* * *

Icepaw lay quietly and idly, twirling his tail in the air. What did his father mean about the elders not telling him about scourge, or about Firestar? Remembered it like yesterday… His thoughts trailed off.

His vision flickered, _Oh no_. Then a blinding light hit him.

Once his vision became clear, he looked around. A heavy stench of Thunderclan still lingered. He soon smelt something familiar.

Seeing movement under the trees, he went closer to see three Thunderclan warriors. An unevenly gray mottled one seemed to be arguing with the blue-ish one. The young one was half the size of the gray one, but his amber eyes were locked onto him as if that cat was hunting a piece of prey.

"What do you think Tigerpaw?" The one with the white face growled.

Tigerpaw gave a sinister smile. "I think we should teach this kitty pet a lesson."

Kittypet? Icepaw took a big step back, and heard a bell ring.

Next thing he knew, he felt a sudden amount of pain, and his left ear was bleeding. He was soon flung into the air by Tiger paw's powerful forepaws.

He felt his vision fade to black, but Tigerpaw pinned him down.

The blue furred one seemed to be pleading with the older gray one. He wondered what they were saying, but the blood was roaring in his ears, muffling more the words up.

Tigerpaw pressed against Icepaw harder, where they were less than a claw's length from each other. "You'll never forget me!" He snarled in Icepaw's face. His amber eyes seared into his vision.

Soon enough a bright light blinded him. He found himself in the medicine cat den, shivering. He took a few deep breaths, and soon enough most of his fur flattened. Once that was done, he groomed some parts than did not flatten.

Mid groom, he heard someone call his name.

"Hey Icepaw!" He looked up and saw Dunepaw waiting at the entrance of the den he was resting in. "How are you uh feeling?"

Letting out a huge yawn, soon stretching his legs. "Well enough."

There was an awkward moment of silence, were Icepaw looked at the light brown tom.

"Uh so is it true?"

"Is what true?"

"You know." Dunepaw said calmly. "Winning the fight." His sky blue eyes were soon on the cobwebs.

He nodded. "I didn't mean it though." He said. "It just kind of… happened."

"Also…" Dunepaw's eyes filled with uncertainty and curiosity. "Are you and Pinepaw a thing?"

It took Icepaw a second to realize what he meant. "What! No! We aren't 'anything' but friends!" He stammered multiple times throughout the sentence.

"Well do you have a 'thing' with any she cats?" He asked slyly and directly. "Like Acornpaw?" His eyes seemed to un-focus as he mentioned the name "She mentioned her admiration to your victory."

Icepaw smiled. Was his friend was mooning over Acornpaw? How could he have not noticed earlier?

"If you want, I'll put a good word for you." He said, looking and Dunepaw.

"You would?" Dunepaw eyes widened with hope and excitement. "Thanks."

"Well that's what friends rare for Dunepaw." He said, soon licking his white paw, and moving it down his face, to clean it up.

"Well I'm going outside the medicine cat den." He got up, his body feeling hurt, but not as hurt when it was fresh. His left shoulder felt somewhat stiff. No matter.

He slowly increased his pace as he walked out of the medicine cat den. The moment he stepped out of the den, all the apprentices took a glance at him, then going back to their conversation. Acornpaw was seemingly gazing at him. She turned her head back to the other apprentices.

He took a deep breath as the warm sunlight touched his black pelt. He took a moment to look around camp, and saw a lot of gazes upon him. Some in admiration, and some with confusion.

_I'm guessing I'm the talk of the clan right now_. He told himself as he walked closer to the center of camp.

Some went back to their conversations, others continued to stare at him uneasily.

"Icepaw!" He heard a voice. He turned around and saw Acornpaw.

"I want to congratulate you for winning that battle." She said, shifting her paws. "I was wondering if we could go out for a walk?"

"Su—" A voice cut him off.

"Icepaw come with me." He turned around, and saw Bramblestar was standing there. Icepaw gulped. Were Jayfeather and Bramblestar talking about my punishment?

He followed his mentor to the leaders den.

"Now that we are alone, I have to talk to you." He began. "Why did you attack the other apprentice first?" He looked very displeased, and his amber eyes were staring straight into his.

"He accused me of stealing a rabbit, then called me a little apprentice." He told Bramblestar. "He was undermining me."

"But violence doesn't solve all problems." He said. "And I also heard from many other cats from the same patrol that you nearly killed him." He said concerned.

"I had no control over myself." He said, wanting Bramblestar to believe him. "He clawed at me, and then I completely lost it, but I didn't feel like me…" He trailed off.

Bramblestar's eyes widened, looking at were the cobwebs were, and he mouthed something, but he couldn't make it out.

"Um… I didn't catch that." He told Bramblestar.

"Don't worry, you're free to go." He said. Icepaw dipped his head and walked out of the den.

He could see Pinepaw coming back from her hunting trip. She had a mouse in her mouth, and he smiled. He also saw something in her eyes that wasn't there when she had left. Was it worry?

He went up to her, and she seemed eerily calm.

"Do you want to share this mouse?"

His smile faded away. She's never his calm…

"Sure…" He trailed off slowly. "Is something wrong." He whispered to her, heading to lie down next to her.

"You want the first bite?" She asked him.

"You take the first bite." He said. "A couple more seconds without food hasn't killed anyone."

She took a bite, and chewed it slowly. He took the next bite and chewed it quicker than she had.

"Try not to get hurt." She said, soon swallowing the fresh kill. "It hurts me to see you like that."

"I'm a warrior apprentice, there's always that risk." He told her.

"But please, it worries me to have to see you like that. Don't let it happen to you again." She said softly and pleadingly.

Her eyes were filled with concern, but also something else behind them. Of course he shook it off.

"Ok…" He nodded. "I'll try not to get hurt…" He trailed off, but then he let something slip out."… For you."

"Thank you." She nuzzled his shoulders. Her warm touch caught him by surprise.

oOo Couple of days later oOo

Icepaw woke up from his slumber. He looked around, and saw the other apprentices still sleeping. The days have been filled with training from both Bramblestar and Breezepelt, but he was still filled with confusion over the things that had occurred the days before.

"_I don't remember any elders tales tailing you that."_

He felt himself cringe whenever he thought of Tigerpaw.

"_You'll never forget about me!"_

I need to get my mind off this. He told himself. Bramblestar had been keeping a close eye on him, and it honestly annoyed him, not having the freedom of his own life, especially since he was not allowed to go out unless Bramblestar went with him... I know! Ill go out a walk, and I know just how to get out!

He went to the Dirtplace tunnel, and looked around. _Where is this section where the brambles were moveable? I heard Sunpaw talking about them a couple of days ago._ After a moment of surveying the area, he found some brambles with blacken thorns. With a swift jump, he reached the ledge, and then he noticed something different. He took a sniff at the brambles. _Shadepaw and Flamepaw?_ He decided it was best if he didn't poke his nose into his sister's romance.

He moved the brambles carefully, as he did not want to get a cut or scratch. Once they were out of the way, he continued out. He looked up at the sky and the moon was slowly acceding to be at the highest point.

He started to walk over to the Windclan border, for no particular reason. He had not been near the area since the battle.

The moon was nearing its highest when he reached the stream by the Windclan border. He sat at the stream, his throat becoming parched. He started to lap up some water with his tongue, but to his failure, most of the water did not go into his mouth. He looked upstream and saw the entrance to the Moonpool. He was almost tempted to go up there and drink some water but then he remembered that the lake was downstream.

He walked slowly to the lake, and lapped up some water from the lake. The water going down his now hydrated throat made him feel wide awake. The rippling water was slowly going away, and saw the stars from above reflect from the lake.

He was left speechless when he saw how stunning this was, as the stars seemed to make the dark lake glitter with light.

"Its so… beautiful." He told himself out loud.

"I know." A voice spoke. He hadn't heard that voice for a bit. He looked to his left and saw Spottedpaw sitting on her side of the stream.

This was somewhat awkward to him. "You couldn't sleep?" He asked, soon yawning.

"No." She said. "I like seeing all the stars on a clear night like this, so sneaking out is quite common for me."

She seemed to be looking at the water, and the stars reflecting off. "It's ok if you want me to go." He said. She seemed to look at him quickly.

"No, its completely fine if you stay." She said. "I usually watch the stars alone…" She paused, then moving her head so their eyes met. "But it would be nice to have some cat with me."

Her hazel eyes seemed to shine in the moonlight. He never noticed that.

"Um." He said uncomfortably. "How is Clawpaw?" He quickly said, changing the subject.

"He is fine." She said looking back at the lake. "He is somewhat spooked still. He sometimes wakes up screaming in the medicine cat den, always saying something about those… icy… eyes…" She trailed off, looking at Icepaw again.

Her eyes widened.

"Oh my Starclan, you were the one who defeated him?" She said with bewilderment.

He braced himself for an attack, but she all he heard was a purr of amusement growing louder and louder.

"You taught him a lesson now didn't you." She said walking closer to him.

"Aren't you mad?" Icepaw asked her, with extreme befuddlement in his voice.

"Not really." She admitted reprehensibly. "The only one who enjoyed his company was Blackpaw, his brother." She said. "He was a bully to all the other apprentices."

He looked amused, now chuckling. "Well I guess i was glad I could help?"

She proceeded to nuzzle the side of his face. "Thank you."

He felt a purr, not from her, but from him.

This feeling felt so sudden and different.

Something he could not remember.

He would call himself crazy, but was this what _love_ felt like?

* * *

**_Oh ho ho ho (Laughing)! Let this shipping wars begin!_**

**_Anyways it was nice making this chapter, and I love all the support ive been getting from yall :3_**

**_Now Question time: What are some good warriors names for some of the paws in the story here? I will consider chosing a few if i like them :3_**

**_A thing about me!: I am in High school._**

**_Well that is all for today! Review if you like, follow or favorite this story, and if you want to know when i make something new, then follow my profile :3_**

**_Talon_**


	7. VII: Brother and Sisters Under No Stars

_**Brothers and Sisters Under No Stars**_

_**Well here it is the next installment of A Heart So Cold! I have also am waiting to receive my copy of the DOTC: A Forest Divided! Well time to answer some reviews!**_

_**Sunnypelt: Thank you for all those name suggestions! I plan on using a couple…**_

_**Lightstar and Darkstar: Not the kit kat bars! Don't worry, Love is a malleable as wet clay.**_

_**Guest (Wink Wink): Well then… I don't see what you mean by that winking (Sarcastically). Anyways Ill use at least one of those names.**_

_**Autumnstripe: Maybe ill make then appear next gathering, ill implement them somehow…**_

_**Guest (Owlpaw): Maybe just maybe…**_

_**Guest( Love interest galore): He does have all the gals ***__**Wink Wink**__*** but in the end, one will be his to call a mate, or I could make it all tragic for him. Who knows… Anyways I plan on using one of your suggestions soon enough…**_

_**Shiverdream of Windclan: I kinda do too… and I see you have chosen a ship to love :3**_

_**By the way anything in italics are to show dreams or visions, something not happening in the flesh persay. Onwards to Story!**_

* * *

Icepaw had just gotten back into camp, from visiting the now warrior Spottedwind. He slowly went to an empty nest. Pinepaw twitched, making him scared for a second that she could wake up and notice he was out after they were all asleep. Fortunately enough she was still asleep. With a sigh of relief, went into the nest, and closed his eyes.

.:.:.

_He opened his eyes, and saw that he found himself in the familiar forest he had been visiting for some while now. He looked up and saw all the foliage that was covering the sky._

_A cat bubbled up from the ground, and then the bubbling faded as his amber eyes opened._

_"Your late" Breezepelt said calmly, yet annoyed. "Your lucky todays lesson does not involve time." He flicked his tail. "It is time for you to meet your brother's and sister's."_

_"Brother's and Sister's?" Icepaw asked, somewhat confused._

_"Your fellow trainees." He said, now mildly annoyed. "You are not the only one who seeks their success." He paused. "Follow me."_

_Icepaw grinned. About time I met the others. He thought to himself. For two moons all I've had to spar with was Breezepelt. To be honest it's been quite boring._

_He trailed right behind his mentor, to a somewhat brighter clearing._

_Not much of a big deal, until he saw a rise in the ground. There was a hill, with bones of all kind, scattered around the hill, and in the center of it all, a cat with their eyes closed._

_Icepaw continued to survey the area and soon saw other trainees with their mentors appear._

_Looking closer, the mentors had some form of scar. One of the mentors was a dark brown tom, with scars spread across his face, another was a tortoiseshell she cat with a scarred head, a very dark gray tom with black stripes on his pelt, with a hidden claw mark under some of his fur. Another a cat with a snow white pelt, and a scar from his belly to his ear, and the last one was a familiar looking grey unevenly mottled cat with a whitish face._

_The eldest cat opened his eyes and stood up._

_The old tom began to walk down, making some of the bones clank and clatter._

_Mentors dipped their heads in respect as the old cat walked by them. His paw steps grew closer and closer, the scent of crow food grew. He wanted to shrivel his nose, but he knew this was not the worst scent he has smelt. Soon enough this old cat was standing in front of him._

_"Breezepelt." His voice smelt of crow food. "Why have you chosen a apprentice lacking of… size?"_

_"He is the Ice Maggottail." Breezepelt told him, his head still dipped._

_Maggottail observed him once more, then continued back to the hill, bones clattering as he climbed it._

_"Trainees!" He called out, his voice sounding as smooth as a squirrel squealing for its life. "Step forward!"_

_Icepaw step up, along with the other trainees. Some of these trainees looked like they were here for a while, and others looked new here._

_"Trainees, tell your new brother and sister your names."_

_A brown tom looked at him. "I am Volepaw of Shadowclan." He turned around to go back to his mentor; he saw a claw mark running down his back._

_Soot colored she cat spoke now. "I am Emberpaw of Shadowclan." Her ears were clawed up; the left one looking like it was going to come off._

_A bulky silver shaped tom spoke now. "I am Stripepaw of Riverclan." His eyes narrowed looking at him._

_Another tom walked up his fur was white. "I am Salmonpaw of Riverclan." Over his eyes were claw marks, yet he could still see._

_A russet colored tom looked at one of the other trainees, then looked at Icepaw, giving a grin. "I Redpaw, Windclan."_

_A She cat now spoke, but softer than the others. "I am Willowpaw of Windclan." She had some scars on her pelt, with fur still growing, indicating she started to train around the same time he did._

_All the gazes landed on him now._

_He stood up, and spoke. "I am Icepaw of Thunderclan." The confidence that radiated off him caused Redpaw to chuckle._

_"So small for big confidence." He said, snickering humorously. "You is smaller than kit, I can take him with single paw."_

_"You want to put your claws were your mouth is?" Icepaw now snarled._

_Maggottail looked at both of them, from the top of the bone hill._

_"I will permit this fight to occur." He looked a Breezepelt, and the cat with the white face." Thistleclaw and Breezepelt, stand aside while these brothers fight."_

_Icepaw looked into Redpaw's golden yellow eyes._

_"This moment to fight, is great for me." Redpaw snarled, walking up to Icepaw, with his claws fully unsheathed. "This be quick, as this tiny tiny excuse for brother."_

_Icepaw was now furious, yet he did not let his pelt show it. He stood up, and unsheathed his claws, circling Redpaw the same direction as Redpaw was to Icepaw._

_Redpaw now charged, and jumped mid charge, moving his unsheathed claws to Icepaw._

_Icepaw quickly moved, just avoiding Redpaw's claws by a hair length. Again, Redpaw tried to swipe, just missing him again._

_Another failed claw attempted went by, and Redpaw was furious. "Be still small snake!"_

_He charged Icepaw again, who now jumped, and clawed at his ear._

_Redpaw growled with anger and pain. "Why you little rat!" His ear was now dangling, with crimson red flowing down his face._

_Chuckling with confidence, Icepaw charged Redpaw now. Redpaw quickly sprang up, and his claws dragged along the side of his face._

_Yowling in pain, Icepaw drew his head back, as the crimson red started to well up._

_He then remembered he could take advantage of this. He took a deep breath, and the scent of his blood filled his nose._

_The sinister smile grew, baring his teeth, and his irises narrowing. The power he felt rushing through his body felt much more in this place than when he was awake._

_He turned his head, and saw Redpaw's face and the next thing he knew he found his claws dragging across Redpaw's face, removing a lot of the fur there, allowing a lot of blood to well up there. The yowl of pain that Redpaw gave when he felt those claws._

_Trying to retaliate, he threw his claws at Icepaw, who narrowly evaded them. Losing his footing, Redpaw fell, his front paw bent down. This of course allowed Icepaw the chance of Jumping on his back, and then sliced. His ear fell off, and now Redpaw yowled in pain, as more blood came from where his ear once was._

_Redpaw jumped, making sure to land on his back. Icepaw quickly got off him and now Redpaw realized his error in his tactic. Icepaw now landed onto of Redpaw, his paw at his throat._

_Redpaw was now struggling to get out of Icepaw's grip, but Icepaw simply pushed harder._

_His irises suddenly growing larger, the effects of his trance going away he now looked at Maggottail._

_"Well done Icepaw, Well done." He said, with a wolfish grin on his face. "It is your choice to either spare his pathetic life, or kill him."_

_Icepaw didn't know what to do. Then a voice that sounded much like his rang in his head. Kill him. No one should defy us! Icepaw looked into Redpaw's eyes, they were wide with fear and terror, basically pleading for him not to kill him._

_Icepaw was tempted to listen to the voice, but he simply got off of him. Redpaw started to gasp for air, still lying on the ground. "Next time I won't be so merciful." He snarled, making sure that he didn't sound weak._

_Thistleclaw walked up to his apprentice. His eyes were filled with everything but pity or remorse. "You worthless excuse for a trainee!" His apathetic snarl almost made him flinch. "Your no better than my first apprentice!"_

_Breezepelt sat where he was during the entire fight as Icepaw walked up to him. Icepaw smiled with pride, and cockiness._

_"You did a good job, but that doesn't make you top cat… yet."_

_Icepaw shrugged. "I am still ready to learn, he was just a warm up."_

oOoOo

Hours past by, with him training, soon waking up, he felt the scratch he had was a scab, with the scent of dry blood. It didn't seem to bother him too much, in fact, he felt somewhat calm, but it still hurt of course.

He looked around in the den and felt cushioned next two different pelts. He looked to the left and saw Acornpaw, and to the right, he saw Pinepaw. Now he saw movement among all the pelts in the apprentice's den. It was a sandy-ish pelt. He quickly and carefully got up not to wake the she cats.

"Good morning Icepaw." Dunepaw yawned.

"Morning…" He grumbled.

Dunepaw looked at Icepaw's face. "What happened to you?" His eyes narrowed.

"Um…" He was trying to think of an excuse. It was quite easy to lie to his parents as, but to his friends, not as easy as he thought it would be.

"Come on, you could trust me." He whispered to his friend.

He still felt hesitant to talk. "Well… we will talk about it over a piece of fresh kill." Icepaw said, walking out of the apprentice den. Dunepaw soon followed.

The sun was high in the sky.

"Today must've been a day off for us apparently." Dunepaw said, looking around the camp.

"Yea." Icepaw replied. He gave a quick glance at the fresh kill pile, and saw a squirrel. He walked over to it, and dragged it over to the clearing.

He sat down, and Dunepaw sat across from him.

"If I tell you, you won't tell anyone… right?" Icepaw looked at Dunepaw.

"I won't tell anyone." Dunepaw said trustingly.

He sighed, and then spoke. "I got it from training."

"Bramblestar did that to you?" He asked, looking at the claw mark, somewhat worried.

"No. I was training somewhere different, somewhere away from these territories, with some… some mysterious cats." He tried to come up with a logical way to explain. "They teach us things to win battles, but there's always the chance I can get hurt."

"Us?" Dunepaw asked curious. "There are more than just you?"

"Yes." He said. "We train with other cats." He also looked at the sky. "Its always dark there, as if it was night… not a single star to light the night."

"Are they from this clan?" Dunepaw continued asking.

Icepaw shook his head. "It doesn't matter, we are being train. We are like a… a… a family."

"Like… brothers and sisters?" Dunepaw suggested.

"Yea…" He said. "Like brothers and sisters." He said thoughtfully.

_Brothers and sisters under no stars..._

* * *

_**Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter of mostly the Dark forest, and his confession to Dunepaw. What will happen next chapter? Find out next time!**_

_**Question of the Day: Ok there will be two different questions here. First off who should've walked the Dark forest when they shouldn't have been walking with Starclan or the other way around? And second question is a more of a moral question if you ask me. Does something given have no value?**_

_**Thing about me: Umm lets see… I write these fanfics during they school day… a bad habit when I need to get legit work done.**_

_**Well if you want to, review, and if you want to see more, fav and follow!**_

_**Talon**_


	8. VIII: Questions

_**Questions…**_

_**Thank you for all the responses you gave me to my question! Time to respond to the reviews!**_

_**Kiwi: Well Thistleclaw wasn't exactly the most evil, I somewhat agree with your response.**_

_**Spottedmist: Yep, I agree with the Ashfur part**_

_**Guest (Yay): Yep, I used Spottedwind :3 And I may use more names, and also that idea for the story…**_

_**Here we go. The story!**_

* * *

Icepaw looked at the squirrel. He took a bite and chewed it slowly, allowing the flavor of the fresh kill to flow.

This tastes so good. He though as if he had never tasted squirrel.

He soon saw Acornpaw walking out of the apprentice den.

"You guys are eating with me?" She said over exaggerating.

He got up. "I'm done eating." Now looking at Dunepaw, he winked and nudged his head to Acornpaw. This is your chance, Icepaw mouthed to Dunepaw. He now looked at Acornpaw. "If you want, you can finish it with Dunepaw, I need to get this checked out."

"Sure Icepaw." She said, taking his spot across from Dunepaw. He looked at Icepaw with a smile. He mouthed, thank you.

Now Icepaw walked over to the medicine cat den. He took a deep breath and walked in. The scent of herbs and other poultices filled his nose as he saw his mothers back.

Her ear perked as she heard his paw steps. Turning around, her eyes seemed to focus on the claw marks on his face.

"What happened?" She asked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"I got hurt." He simply said. "Thorns from a bramble bush."

"But you just woke up." Briarlight said.

His eyes began to widen a bit.

"I know my kit, and you Icepaw, you groom your fur every morning when you wake up."

Darting his eyes to his pelt, he could see it was l ruffled and messed up.

"Me and Briarlight know you have lying to us." A voice said sternly, but he knew it so well. "Now its your turn to tell the truth."

He turned to the entrance. It was Jayfeather.

"What do you want to know?" Icepaw sighed and sat, looking defeated.

"Just answer honestly and we will let you go… we care for you." Briarlight said.

"Do you see things?" Jayfeather went straight to questioning. "Like things that would be considered abnormal for you?" Jayfeather asked him.

"No- I mean yes." He said hesitantly.

"What do you see?" Jayfeather narrowed his blind eyes.

"I see me, always somewhere… different."

"Can you describe where?" Briarlight asked.

"Um…" He tried to think of a word to describe it, but he couldn't. "It smelt very weird." Soon enough he felt like his world was spinning around and around, his head was hurting so much. It was home. He heard the voice from the night before.

It seemed like Jayfeather could sense his discomfort with this matter. "Ok you're free to go."

Briarlight looked at Jayfeather if he was mad.

Icepaw slowly walked out of the medicine cat den.

He took a deep breath and started to groom his pelt so it didn't look so ruffled and messy.

_That was weird_… He thought to himself.

He soon heard laughing and giggles. He looked towards the sound. With just a glance he could see that Acornpaw and Dunepaw were talking with each other, and not just that, but they were lying next to each other.

He couldn't help but smile.

"Icepaw." He heard a voice. He turned around quickly and saw Bramblestar. "Lets go to the clearing for some training." Icepaw nodded, following his mentor out of camp.

His thoughts were still jumbled though, filled with confusion, anger, and still, he felt as if he was missing something.

Why were my parents so interested in these little vision spells? What was so important about these visions?

Breaking his trail of though Bramblestar spoke. "As you have realized, I need to evaluate your combat skills." He seemed to give a little grin. "So lets spar. Claw's sheathed to prevent unnecessary harm."

Icepaw had a let his little grin become a smile, and nodded. Sparring with the leader… this should be fun. He nodded to Bramblestar.

"Alright." He sounded calm. "On the count of three, the spar begins."

Icepaw got himself in a stance, to be prepared. Bramblestar seemed to observe this.

"One. Two…" Bramblestar paused for a moment. Icepaw focused his eyes on the leader. "Three!"

Icepaw resisted the urge to charge, and held his ground. Bramblestar began to slowly walk towards him, and soon began to circle him.

He kept his icy blue eyes glued to the leader.

Bramblestar leapt, and Icepaw evaded swiftly, turning his body towards Bramblestar.

A grin spread across Bramblestar's face.

Icepaw had to think quickly. _He's bigger than me, and stronger… maybe if I fake him out?_

Icepaw charged Bramblestar, who anticipated, dogged away. What he didn't expect was for Icepaw to quickly change his course mid charge and charge once more, again in Bramblestar's direction.

He attempted to push Bramblestar down, but in doing so, he lost his own balance, and knocked himself onto the ground.

Bramblestar quickly snaked himself onto his apprentice, pinning him down. "I win."

The voice from within whispered. _Revenge_.

All of a sudden, a scar appeared across Bramblestar's nose.

Icepaw suddenly had a jolt of fear and hatred, and kicked his legs up, hitting Bramblestar in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. Bramblestar got onto his hind legs, in surprise that his breathing had suddenly stopped. He proceeded to gasp for air, as if he was a fish out of water.

Flailing about Bramblestar eventually landed on his back, allowing Icepaw to pin him down, and he soon found himself pushing his paw towards the bottom of his throat.

_Do it._ The voice whispered lightly_. Make Tigerstar pay! Make him suffer for what he did to us so many years ago!_

Tigerstar? This was no Tigerstar… This was Bramblestar!

He soon felt his vision flicker, then a blinding light.

"_There will be no battle today." He heard himself say._

_He looked down at all the cats. He saw a ginger pelt with emerald eyes. Firestar. And next to him, he saw Bramblestar, except he seemed to be the size of a paw!_

_He looked around at the crowd, some filled with fear and others filled with surprise._

"_Traitor!" A voice beside him yowled. It took him a bit by surprise, as he found himself now rolling._

_Surely enough, he managed to land on top of the cat. He looked down and saw the amber eyes filled with fear._

_He pushed his claws into the bottom of his throat, and smoothly drag down._

_The soft feeling soon changed with the feeing of warm crimson blood, coving his once white paw. This cat was now coughing up blood, trying to speak. He got off of this cat, and he felt the blood pour and touch his paws._

_He looked around at the cats. All were either silent or in awe. _

The white light flashed once more, jolting him into the present.

He looked down at Bramblestar. His amber eyes were somewhat calm, but at the same time somewhat fearful.

Do it!" The voice now shouted.

"Never!" He yowled out loud as he got off of Bramblestar.

He could see one of eyes becoming hazy, but fought to not allow it to take control.

Soon enough his vision cleared, and he saw Bramblestar looking at him awkwardly.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, taking a huge breath.

"I'm sorry Bramblestar." He said apologetically. "I didn't mean too."

Bramblestar took a deep breath. "Don't worry about it."

"But… But…"He trailed off. "I saw a cat like you…"

Bramblestar seemed to have a sudden confusion. "Like me?"

He nodded. "He had scars, like one on his nose."

Bramblestar seemed to stiffen now, and mouthed something, though it was quite clear. Tigerstar.

"Let's go back to camp." He said.

Icepaw nodded as he walked by his mentor's side.

What had Bramblestar so worried… other than the fact that it looked like i was about to kill him?

Bramblestar seemed to rush ahead. Then Icepaw remembered his training at night was quite... strenuous.

Progressively become slower, Bramblestar became farther and farther, and by the time Icepaw had reached camp, his mentor was already in the medicine cat den.

He took a look around camp, and he saw Pinepaw talking with Dewstream. Firepaw was sitting at the entrance of the apprentice den, looking very… very envious at Dunepaw and Acornpaw. A bit more to the left of Dunepaw and Acornpaw was his sister, Shadepaw, talking to Flamepaw, but their tails somewhat twined.

Pinepaw looked over her mentor and saw him.

She smiled as she ran past her mentor, and Dewstream's tail seemed to drop with disappointment.

"Hello Icepaw." She said, happily.

His mood lightened up a bit. "Hello Pinepaw."

Her green eyes seemed to be concerned. "So what did you do Bramblestar?"

"We sparred." He said, getting suddenly quieter. "I won."

She gave him a light nudge. "Cheer up."

He rolled his eyes, and smiled a bit. "I guess." He looked at the fresh kill pile. "You want to share a mouse or something?"

"Um… Sure!" She trailed right behind him, to when he picked a mouse, he pushed it to her. "You take the first bite."

She smiled and then she took a bite of the mouse she chewed and then swallowed. Nudging it to him, she giggled lightly. "Now you take a bite."

He looked at the mouse, and took a bite of it. The mouse was a little bit dry, but it was juicy enough that the flavor was noticeable. He couldn't help but smile with the taste. He then noticed that Pinepaw was looking at him directly in the eyes, as if she was looking for something.

"Um… Is something wrong?" He couldn't help but asking Pinepaw.

She blinked twice. "No… I was just… looking into your eyes…" Her eyes widened as she realized how awkward that sounded. "You know, the icy blue they are."

That word rung in his ears. Icy. _Ice._ The word Breezepelt said he was. He was the Ice? What did that have to mean? Did it have to relate with his battle abilities?

Getting caught up in thought, Pinepaw nudged him again. "So what do you think of when you see your future?"

He thought for a second. What did she mean by that. "I see myself as a great warrior, maybe an apprentice to train... I really don't know much more."

She rolled her eyes." Don't laugh at what I'm going to say, but I was thinking, maybe sometime in the future, maybe a season after myself being a warrior and all, I would have a family, maybe a litter or two to raise."

Icepaw looked at her smugly, he wanted to laugh, but at the same time, a part of him told him that seemed reasonable to think or dream of. "That's always great."

Looking up at the sky, he could see the sun was beginning to fall.

"Tonight is the night of the full moon!" He said, remembering that he could see Spottedwind again, chat with her where he wouldn't technically be breaking rules… if she went.

"I completely forgot." Pinepaw said. "I wonder who will Bramblestar pick to go."

Bramblestar walked out of the medicine cat den, and then walked over to Squirrelflight.

They started to speak with each other. A lot of nodding and Shaking was involved.

Soon enough Bramblestar called out. "We have decided who will go to the gathering."

"Dewstream, Flareflower, Amberflower, Bumblestripe, Cinderheart, Lightpelt, Brackenpaw, Thistlepaw, Icepaw will be coming."

Icepaw sighed. _Breezepelt is going to give me a hard time for this._

"Well it looks like you get to mingle with the other clans tonight." Pinepaw said, nuzzling his shoulder.

He chuckled nervously. "Yeah."

_I wonder if Clawpaw was going to be there? Icepaw knew Clawpaw wouldn't take lightly to seeing him again._

* * *

_**Well here we go! A bit of mush in it, and I had a bit of a writer's block with this chapter. Also, feel free to put in suggestions for what could happen in the story :3 If I like the idea, it could get incorporated into the story :3 A **_

_**Also Question time: What is one of your favorite fanfics other than this. For me, I like malicent's Apprentice and Pregnant series, and Acain Keyrose's Encounter (A ScourgeXCinder). **_

_**Well if that's all, then, fav, review, and follow if ya feel like it!**_

_**Talon**_


	9. IX: Another Moon Another Gathering

**Another Moon, Another Gathering**

**Well this may be the shortest chapter, because after this one, I plan on using 5 pages or more per chapter in my notebook that I write the rough drafts. Well time to answer reviews.**

**Autumnstripe: I'm ok with some warrior high series, but I haven't read warriors camp, I may read it**

**SilverStormyWolf: You made me think, and for Clawpaw to tell doesn't seem like him, but it was also kind of bad he almost did kill him, but at the same time, I may incorporate a way, as it gives me a form of inspiration, or a new direction to take this story :3**

**Kiwi: I loved Snatched! I felt so bad for the ending almost made me cry.**

**Hotaru: Team LaurelFire!**

**Guest(:U): I will make more :3**

**Guest(Icepawisntbad): Something like that. Still I have more ideas for that.**

**Shiverdream of Windclan: Hm… Ill probs check it out.**

**Well it that is all, lets get to this chapter!**

* * *

Icepaw stood by the camp entrance, waiting for the moon to rise even higher and higher. Soon enough he felt a pelt brush beside his. He looked to see Pinepaw with her sleek brown pelt.

The black tom now looked at her. "Oh hello Pinepaw." He said, acting if he hadn't noticed her.

She looked at him. "Hello Icepaw." Her warm gaze made him feel… lacking for a better word, amazing… just like how Spottedwind looked at him.

"When you're at the gathering, can you say hello to Spottedwind for me." She said. His eyes seemed to shift away from her. "We became great friends last gathering."

He felt somewhat awkward… _Pinepaw is a friend of Spottedwind? Why had she never mentioned this before?_

"Uh… sure Pinepaw. Ill tell Spotted…paw that your doing fine, and you said hello."

She purred. "Than you Icepaw." She nuzzled the side of his face, the side with no scar on it. This feeling felt… weird… and new.

_Not even Spottedwind did this_.

"Also if Clawpaw is there… try to avoid him." She said. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Icepaw was clearly not listening, as he was still on the fact that Pinepaw did that. So many thoughts ran through his head.

"Icepaw!" She playfully budged him. "Are you listening?"

He remained silent. The simplest way of saying 'no, i was thinking of something else.'

She rolled her emerald green eyes. "I was saying just be safe. Clawpaw may not be too friendly with you around if he's there."

"Sure, Sure." He said. She reacted with a stern face.

His pale icy blue eyes looked at her face, and he couldn't help but start giggling.

She now frowned, and pushed him with her paw. "Im serious."

"I know you are." He said, with a slight purr. "I won't get hurt."

"Well… Ok." She said. There was an awkward pause. "I just want you to know something." She paused again. Icepaw gave her his full attention.

"Yes Pinepaw?" He said with a smile on his face.

She shuffled her paws awkwardly. "Well I was just wondering and all, but, i just want you to know that I—" She was cut off by Bramblestar.

"Gathering group!" His voice echoed off the clearing walls. "Lets go!"

He looked back at her. "You want to finish that sentence?" He could see something in her eyes.

She shook her head, and sat down properly, putting her tail over her paws. "It can wait."

He shrugged, with some suspense still in him. "If you say so." He playfully nudged her to the right. "Ill be back."

He started to walk towards the group that was farther ahead, and his head filled with thoughts. _What made me talk to Pinepaw in such a way? Why had she nuzzled me like that?_

Not noticing, he soon bumped into a cat.

"Oh sorry!" He said, seeing a pelt familiar's to Ashpaw's.

"No harm done." She spoke. "It was Cinderheart. "So how does your apprenticeship go?"

He shrugged. "It is great." Looking at her now, he spoke. "Training's easy enough, at this rate, ill probably providing my share to Thunderclan soon enough."

Cinderheart smiled. "I like your view on life, but you have to slow down, and enjoy the goods now."

He looked at her confused now.

"When i was an apprentice things were quite weird, like i was split between two cats… almost quite literally."

Icepaw looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"Well i was apparently a reincarnation of Thunderclan's former medicine cat, the one before Leafpool."

"A reincarnation?" Icepaw echoed as Cinderheart nodded.

"Yep, and in my past life, i was a medicine cat, and i had all kinds of memories, from herbs to the old territories." She now looked at him with her eyes of a darker shade of blue. "I was so convinced I was supposed to become a medicine cat, but then Jayfeather made me realize that my destiny was mine to chose."

"But how did you know when choose?" Icepaw asked.

Cinderheart had clearly not though of that. "Um. Well I just followed my heart." She said.

"Followed your heart?" Icepaw asked, somewhat confused.

The soot colored warrior nodded. "Someday you will, its up to you when you choose.

The young apprentice nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks for the advice."

He ran ahead, still pondering about things.

My heart.

Soon enough he saw the log bridge.

He took a deep breath, and smelt the scents of Shadowclan and Windclan.

He hopped onto the log, and walked across it. Looking around, the crowd of cats seemed a little bit bigger than the last time he went.

Soon enough he saw the dappled pelt from the night before.

Padding over to her, with a smirk on his face.

"Hello Icy." Spottedwind playfully said, then looking at the cut on his face. "What happened to you?"

"Brambles when sneaking back into camp." He whispered to her. "Why?"

She looked at him. "Well Icy, Redpaw woke up in a pool of his own blood, he was lucky to even be alive."

He then remembered how he hurt his 'Brother' in a battle to prove himself.

"Do you know why?" He asked, somewhat nervously. She shook her head.

"Oh, ok." He lightly sighed with relief. He then saw Willowpaw, one of his 'sisters'.

"One moment." He said to Spottedwind. "Ill be back soon."

"Hello… Willowpaw." He walked up to her, and she jumped a bit.

She turned around, and saw Icepaw. "Uh… yellow brother?"

"It's Icepaw."

"Oh yea…" She trailed off. "You id that to Redpaw."

He sighed. "Yes… I did." Now rolling his eyes, he spoke. "What are your plans after the trainings?" He asked her, now whispering. "Do you plan on like leading your clan or becoming a great warrior?"

"Oh you know… power and stuff." She replied back, whispering not to arouse suspicion.

"Ok." He had a feeling she was lying. "Nice to talk to you."

He continued back to Spottedwind. "Its nice to meet new cats."

"I guess." She said. "But anyways, when—" She was cut off.

"Get away from him." Blackpaw walked in-between the both of them, looking angry with Icepaw.

Spottedwind sigh. "Calm down Blacktail. I'm just talking with Icepaw."

He looked at Icepaw, with eyes that could melt a hole straight through his head. "But don't you remember what he did to Clawpelt?"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

He could notice that he was nudging her away. He sighed. "I guess we could talk next moon." The dappled pelt she cat rolled her eyes.

"If I do come back next time." She went along with what he was saying.

"Let the gathering begin!"

The leaders, starting with Rowanstar went through with their reports.

Shadowclan with their 'we are ever getting stronger and prey is running well'. Riverclan with their 'river filled with fish' and apparently a new litter of kits was born. Thunderclan was going great, he should know at least.

Now it was Windclan's report.

"Things are going great in Windclan." Onestar began with the usual good news. He surveyed the clearing. "It also comes to my attention that the Dark Forest may be on the rise again."

Gasps emerged from the crowd.

Mistystar looked at him. "What gives you the evidence that gives you such a radical assumption Onestar?"

He sighed. "This morning we found one of our apprentice's who woke up in a pool of their own blood. He was lucky to survive."

Some murmurs could be heard, and suspicious gazes seemed to fly around the crowd, some even landing on him.

"Don't let your clan mates fall into this trap." Onestar said. "It is possible to never wake up from those dreams."

Icepaw's eyes widened a bit. Die? He knew about the risk of getting hurt, but dying was something completely different.

_To be strong, even at the risk of death? It must be worth it…_

He looked around the clearing, knowing who walked this "Dark Forest" with him.

Stripepaw seemed indifferent a bout this matter, but Willowpaw looked a bit uneasy and sick.

He knew it was his choice to train there.

_Nothing… Nothing will stop you from getting stronger…. _The inner voice spoke.

_Nothing..._

* * *

_**Well sorry for this chapter for being so short, I promise for the next one to be longer, and as we know, it marks the POV change Chapter! Yes it will be Dunepaw who we see next time!**_

_**Question times! What do you think Icepaw is feeling? How do you think he will react to this in the future?**_

_**Thing about myself: I play War Thunder A lot!**_

_**Well if that is all!, make sure to leave a review, or if you want to see more, favorite, or follow my profile if you like! I will be seeing you next time!**_

_**Talon**_


	10. X: At Camp

_**At Camp**_

_**Well here is another chapter for yall! So soon after the previous one i know!**_

_**Spottedmist: Well I felt that it was short :P For me chapters are always like 1600-2000 words or story atleast.**_

_**Autumnstripe: Thank your for you continued support and compliments :3 He does feel some regret, but ill get into that into a later chapter.**_

_**Kiwi: A spy could be a bit… clichéish… maybe I will make him evil… maybe not… we'll get to those in later chapters**_

_**Amberleaf4273: Thanks… (I checked out some of your stories, I enjoyed a few of them :3)**_

_**Guest(Yay!): I did, and a lot of your questions will be answered later on.**_

_**Shiverdream: That will be answered in a later chapter :P**_

_**I see that the lot of you have questions to things I plan on answering in the story. Well here we go another chapter!**_

* * *

"Tonight is apprentice watch with supervision." Dunepaw heard his mentor say.

He sighed. _Night watch is so… boring_. He looked at Berrynose and nodded, trying to look enthusiastic. "You and Pinekpaw will be supervised by Ivypool." His mother looked at him and smiled.

She looked at Pinepaw now, and then back to him. "At watch, your allowed to chat, and other stuff, but as long as you don't get too sidetrack." She now looked at Pinepaw once more. "I won't be too far away, so if anything so happens, I will be here in less than a heartbeat."

Pinepaw nodded as she stared at his mother stalk off into a area were she wouldn't be seen.

He looked through the patches of missing leaves in the trees, to see the moonlight peering, giving a source of light. The glow was nice and made it easier to see anything that could creep up on them.

He flicked his ears, observing the bushes and then he saw a little yellowish glow. He blinked and saw it was gone. He was about to look away when he saw it glow once more. He turned his head towards it, and it gave a blink of light, then fading into the darkness again. The sand colored apprentice was confused at this.

"Um… Pinepaw." Dunepaw began slowly. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Pinepaw looked over, and she took saw the blinking yellow light, except it got closer and closer to Dunepaw. It seemed to get closer and closer to him, and he struggled not to flinch away once it landed once on his nose. It was a light bug, or what Purdy had described in his stories as one.

It flickered again, and it moved up his nose, tickling him, blinking its light once more.

Pinepaw couldn't help but laughing as she saw Dunepaw's surprised face. He rolled his eyes as he exhaled from his nose, making the light bug go away.

He put his eyes back onto the dark areas in the area. Surveying the area once again, he saw nothing than the first time he checked. Now he looked at the sky again, seeing some of the many stars from there.

A darker place, no stars… I couldn't image myself going to such a place to train.

He now decided to look at Pinepaw. Her brown pelt seemed to reflect the light that shimmered down from the clearings in the trees. Dunepaw now began to ponder his thoughts again. Who was her father? Waverunner never seemed to mention him, but always told her she had the pelt of her father. He shrugged it off as he continued to think.

"Dunepaw." Pinepaw now spoke. "I have a question."

He moved his ears back so he could hear her. "I'm listening so ask away."

"Well your Icepaw's friend and all." She began. He rolled his blue eyes. Is she going to ask how to get Icepaw officially?

"And?" He couldn't help to grin and stifle a purr.

"And I find it quite weird how he wakes up with those cuts and scratches…" She trailed off. "They seem unnatural."

His grin had now disappeared. This conversation had now turned serious. He started to survey the area again, trying to get his mind off this topic.

She was persistent. "Do you know anything about those… ghost cuts.?" He could now feel her stare on him.

"N-No." He somewhat stammered_. Mouse dung! Now she knows i know something! _He moved his head a bit, to see in the corner of his eyes, that she was staring at him with her emerald green eyes looking at him. On the outside, nothing showed, but on the inside, he was trembling with nervousness.

He surveyed the area, and through the corner of his eye, he could see that she was still looking at him. _She has to be thinking of a way to make me talk, ways to make me tell her what i know._

She gave a sly smile now, though he could not see it. "Well have you heard of a place that is very dark and has no stars?

This description made him stiffen. He realized that gave away some evidence that he knew something. _Fox dung…_ She knew more than what he though she knew. "Well isn't it dark with no stars under those trees?" His full intent was to stall her, getting her annoyed so she wouldn't want to talk about this.

He could basically hear her ears narrowing. "I bet you know what I'm talking about."

He simply shook his head. "What do you mean?" Resisting the urge to look over his shoulder, he sighed quietly.

He could tell she was annoyed. A moment of silence occurred, then she spoke.

"So has your training been?" She asked, completely changing the topic.

He narrowed his eyes. "Training had been good enough." He said. "Only three more moons until I'm a warrior." He simply shrugged.

He was wondering where she was going with this conversation. "Have you learned anything new?" She asked him casually.

"No… Not really. Only some battle techniques." He said somewhat slowly.

He surveyed the area once more, and like the other times before, only the green leaf breezes pushing the leaves on bushes and tree. He took a deep breath as he readied himself for her next question.

"Well have you ever been hurt in training." She asked casually like the last time. "Like an accidental claw mark or anything?"

"Um…" He thought for a second. "Not as bad as Icepaw has—" He cut himself off. He thought it would be easy to avoid giving more than she should know!

Taking a peek over his shoulder he could see Pinepaw was staring at him. _She could burn a hole into the back of my head at this rate. _He thought to himself as her gaze was still upon him.

Then there was a pause for a moment or two. Then the brown apprentice spoke. "Would you like to finish what you where saying?"

He was tempted to tell her what he knew, but then he simply shook her head. "Nope."

"Why not?" She asked, somewhat angered.

"I… uh… promised Icepaw not to tell anyone" He folder her, somewhat whispering. He could hear her sigh.

"You don't know how much stress those ghost cuts bring me." She began. "Every time I see one of those cuts, I fear another one is going to appear, except much worse."

He was about to reply, but then she continued to speak.

"Seeing him with this cuts may bring him physical pain, but to me… those cuts bring emotional pain, and fear of it getting worse and worse." Her voice began to crack. "And one day… one day I feel that I'm going to wake up and find him…" She trailed off.

There was yet again another moment of silence. He knew what she was going to say, but would she say it?

"Dead." She finished her sentence, no louder than a whisper. He peaked over his shoulder once more to see a few tears streaming down her eyes. "I honestly don't care what happens to me… I would do anything to help him… but i need your help too to help him…" She began to wipe some of her tears with her tail. "I just… love him… and care for him so much."

His will not to tell her was slowly fading away, as he turned to see her face. The sadness in her eyes were genuine, and anyone could see that she genuinely meant what she was saying.

"So please… tell me…"

He sighed. He could no longer keep the truth away from her any longer.

Dunepaw sighed as he looked at the tabby she cat. "I only found out this morning." He lowered his voice as she gave him her full attention. "He told me he goes somewhere at night, where he trains where there are no stars…" He began. "Apparently he told me there was always a risk of him getting hurt in there, something like that."

Her eyes widened. "Then… Then we have to stop him from going there!" She said worriedly.

Dunepaw looked at her. "Its his choice." He said nervously and slowly.

"But don't you know something could happen to him?" She said. "I overheard Jayfeather and Bramblestar." She began. "They were talking to each other, saying that he could be the Ice." She proceeded to survey the area this time, then looking back at Dunepaw. "They said he could be walking the Place of No Stars what ever we meant.

"Well how do we know it's exactly a bad place?" He said, still thinking she was fretting too much.

Pinepaw looked at him, with a looked that said it all. "They also mentioned Ivypool who also had—" She was cut off.

"Ive heard enough." Ivypool stepped out of the bushes.

_Fox dung!_ He wanted to say out loud. _I completely forgot that we were being supervised. _

"You two have been talking about the Dark Forest." Ivypool said, looking at the both of them. "That is a place for those disloyal to their clans."

Dunepaw's eyes widened as he heard this.

"They promise you things that are things that seem impossible for you, but at the cost of your loyalty the warrior code, your loyalty to your clan, your loyalties to Starclan."

She now looked at Pinepaw for a brief moment.

"I know from a personal experience." She said calmly, now looking at the moon.

Dunepaw focused on her ears. "Is that what happened to your ears?"

"Yes Dunepaw. That is what happened." She said. "The training conducted in the Dark Forest was what happened."

Dunepaw's doubt was gone.

"Sometimes you wake up in the cold forest… no warmth… the smell of death reeks the place… they give you a false sense of security, then they make you do things that you will regret…" She trailed off. "And then they say it was completely justified."

There was a moment of silence. The apprentices could tell that Ivypool was remembering something tragic from her time in the Dark Forest.

Soon snapping out of her trance, she spoke. "You two don't worry about a thing, I will talk to Icepaw." Ivypool was now looking at them calmly. "Ill talk some sense into him.

Dunepaw nodded. Hopefully she would be able to get Icepaw away from that horrid place.

_Hopefully_

* * *

_**Ooooo…. Ivypool knows now, and what will she do? Will she manage to convince Icepaw to stop visiting the Dark Forest? Will Icepaw listen to her advice? Will the monster inside of him get the better of him? Find out next time!**_

_**Question of the Day: What Warrior MAP/AMV/ Animator do you like? I like xJaystarzx **__**I will be there map**__**.**_

_**Thing about me: Heavy music listener (Doesn't matter what kind of genre, I just listen to whatever is on)**_

_**Well if that is all, I will be seeing you the next time I update! Leave a review if you want to say something, favorite if you like this story, and follow if you want to see more!**_

_**Talon **_


	11. XI: The Voice

_**The Voice **_

_**SilverStormyWolf: I like that animator too :3 And also killing all his potential mates kind of seems a bit clicheish… even if it is accidental, and that would probably be a lot of deaths too.**_

_**Spottedmist: Or uphill… youll never know if this is just a dip in the hills.**_

_**Guest(:l): Well it would make sense if she was nosey… after all she's like a moon younger than Icepaw, and Dunepaw just let himself get carried away.**_

_**Guest(Great Chapter): Thanks anon! I will keep writing :3**_

_**Autumnstripe: Thanks for the compliment on my story :3 I somewhat didn't understand what you meant :C**_

* * *

Icepaw crossed the log bridge, still pondering about the Dark Forest.

_Breezepelt has promised me strength, and he has given it to me through vigorous training._

"Hey Icepaw!" He heard a voice call out. It was Thistlepaw. "Don't you wonder who may be walking the Dark Forest?"

Brackenpaw rushed up to his friend. "Yea! Do you think that there could be another battle with the Dark Forest?"

Icepaw remained silent, and shrugged in a way that made him seem like he didn't care.

"Oh come on Icepaw!" Brackenpaw pushed him to the left. "You never know…" Brackenpaw looked to the left and then to the right. "You could be sleeping next to a traitor."

Icepaw rolled his eyes_. A traitor? I don't want to be known as a _traitor.

_Then decide where your loyalties lie…_ His inner voice whispered. _Maybe they are with the Dark Forest… Maybe with Thunderclan… Maybe elsewhere_

_Elsewhere?_ He asked the mysterious voice, but it simply remained silent. _What did it mean by elsewhere? _Pushing the though aside, he continued to think about the Dark Forest, and the cats which were described as 'evil' and 'vile'.

Being so lost in thought, he didn't realize that the moonlight had disappeared as they walked under the trees at the Thunderclan-Windclan Border. A light breeze could be felt, holding the familiar scent familiar to him, as what it seemed. His mentor would surely be angry with him.

He sighed, starting to pick up the pace, feeling anxious on how Pinepaw was doing.

_Stop thinking about her…_ The Whispering voice said._ She will drag you down…_

_Why would the voice be telling him this?_ He simply thought to himself.

_Because it is true._ The whisper was sharp, with a hint of anger. _She will make you weak._

_Why are you so… negative?_ He asked confused of the way the voice reacted to his happy thoughts.

This time the voice did not reply_. Strange…_ He thought to himself, seeing if the voice would reply.

He felt a nudge move him out of his trance.

"It looks like your having a conversation with yourself." His mentors voice rang in his ears.

"No." Icepaw said, looking at the seasoned leader. "I was just thinking." He told him. "I was talked to Cinderheart, and then the cats from the other clans."

"Well did you enjoy the gathering?" He asked casually.

He nodded. "I didn't know it was called the Dark Forest."

Bramblestar looked and him, and narrowed his amber eyes. Then he began slowly. "What do you mean by that?"

_Fox Dung… _He thought, as he just revealed his knowledge of the Dark Forest, as in knowing it existed before this gathering.

"I… uh…. never knew it had a name, I mean I have heard stories of the Dark Forest… more of them at this gathering after the discussion of it…" He made up an excuse.

Bramblestar looked at him suspiciously. "Ok then." Then he moved his amber eyes onto his black pelt. Icepaw sighed, as Bramblestar did not question any further.

They continued to walk through the Thunderclan forest. Some patches of leaves allowed the moonlight to peek through, touching the forest ground.

The Dark Forest still lingered in his mind.

_I've gotten quite strong… maybe I could stop training with them…_

_But is 'Quite Strong' good enough?_ The voice came back, to speak once again.

_Well…_ he began his though, but was almost immediately cut off by the ominous voice.

'_Quite strong' is not the same thing as the 'Strongest'! We need to train more and more! To prove that you are the strongest to not just your clan mates, but to everyone else!_

Icepaw thought for a second. _The Strongest to everyone? I like the sound of that._

_See? _The voice seemed to calm down a bit. _You're seeing the big image now! To be the best, you need to take risks! We will prove it to them! Maybe even to the Dark Forest!_

This voice gave him a boost of confidence. _More training… More strength!_

His mind then stopped. _But what about the risk of death?_

_We won't die. _The voice said confidently. _With your strength and cunning skill, and my knowledge, we are unstoppable!_

_Ye—, wait us? _He asked the voice questionably. The voice did not reply to him. _Um… you still there?_

He saw the camp's entrance within five fox lengths now. Pumped to get back to training, he started to walk ahead of the group.

He got to the entrance, to be stopped by Ivypool.

"Um… Hello Ivypool." He said nervously.

Soon enough Bramblestar padded up to Ivypool. "What is it Ivypool?"

The silver and white warrior spoke. "I just need to talk to Icepaw about something."

"About?" The leader asked Ivypool. She walked to him, and began to whisper into her ear. His eyes seemed to widen a bit, and then he nodded. "Ok Ivypool."

Icepaw was wondering what Ivypool told Bramblestar.

Then Ivypool left her post, for to be changed with Lionblaze. She looked at Icepaw. He could see a hint of worry in her eyes. "Come with me Icepaw." She said, moving her tail, instructing him to follow.

Tiredly, he looked at Bramblestar. "She won't take long." He said, looking at his apprentice. He started to walk away from them.

Icepaw sighed, and now turned towards Ivypool. He started to walk towards her. She started to walk in the direction towards the lake, _But what in Starclan's name would Ivypool want? _The moon was still high, and he could see the Sky oak, and the lakeshore.

"Do you know why I brought you here?" Ivypool said, with a tone that was subtly implying he was in trouble, in one way or another.

He though for a moment. "No." He said, looking at her.

She now looked at him. "I have learned that you have been walking the Dark Forest."

He soon frowned. She could only know that if Dunepaw had told her… He though to himself, somewhat displeased with his friend.

"Yea? So?" He said in a defensive manor that made it seem like it wasn't such a big deal.

"So what?" She said, astonished. "That place is… vile! That place is Evil!" She exclaimed.

Icepaw looked at her, with a complete disbelieving face, that said that he didn't care. "What do you know?" He said. "You just never took the opportunity!" He said arrogantly.

"What do i know?" She spoke with a hint of anger. "You may think its a great opportunity now, but you will be regretting it. You have only training for around three moons now, but it will get worse." She said. "I took this so called 'opportunity', and yes I trained with them for moons!" She sounded angrier with each word she spoke. "They will teach you things that may benefit what you want, but then they slowly mold you. They do it to their own benefit" She continued with her speech. "Then they tell you what to do, and when you seem to achieve what you want they tell you to do things that you won't be able to get out off."

_She's lying_. The voice spoke again. _She wants you to be weak._

"They lured me in by taking advantage of my once obvious jealousy for my sister. She had a power that made her 'special' making everyone treating her differently. Icepaw could see her reflection on these memories from the expression on her eyes. "They lied to me, telling me we would be equals, I would be special… like her."

Icepaw was about to open his mouth to speak to but she continued.

"After Dovewing and Firestar found out I was training in the Dark Forest, they realized that I could be a spy for sum before the battle against the Dark Forest came along." She said. "I continued to visit the Dark Forest, to tell them what they were planning, but to gain their trust, they told me to do something i would forever regret."

His eyes seemed to focus on her now.

"They told me to fight a cat named Antpelt, a name I shall never forget." She looked somewhat saddened now. "So i could be a 'Dark Forest Warrior', fighting on the front lines, so i fought him. And I won, by tearing down his throat to his stomach." She said now looking at her paws.

"Why would they train you?" Icepaw asked, wondering why they would train them if they were just going to die.

"They did it to first bolster their ranks, and then to weed out the disloyal and the weak." Ivypool said. "Some stayed loyal to them even after the defeat of them, but most of the others gave up their loyalties to the Dark Forest."

_But loyalties are as important as strength_. The voice said calmly. _But you could be loyal and strong._

Those who live there now, who may have betrayed Starclan in their own ways, to benefit themselves, such as killing to claim victor, to ruthless murder of a clan mate." Looking at the moon she sighed. "I know I can't force you to stop going to the Dark Forest, but if you continue on the path that you laid out for your paws, then I can assure you that you will regret it."

The young black pelted apprentice looked at the ground now thinking.

"There are cats that care about you Icepaw. Remember that they are closer to you than you think."

She stood up. "Now lets head back to camp." She said, starting to walk back in the direction of camp.

He nodded, and began to follow her.

The moonlight disappeared as they walked under the trees. He sighed still pondering what he had been told.

_Those who care?_

Dunepaw had told Ivypool, but he couldn't stay mad at his friend… as he did it out of care for him. One of his only friends in Thunderclan, aside from Acornpaw and… Pinepaw.

_No one cares about us._ The voice said.

Icepaw was now confused. _What do you mean?_

_What do i mean? They all laugh at us, behind our backs. You may not see it, but I do. _The voice had a rising anger inside it. _Our weakness is what they laugh at._

_But…_ He trailed off.

_But what Icepaw?_ It now sounded like it was calming down. _We would become weak with out the Dark Forest. Remember the moons before we met Breezepelt? We trained so we can no longer be timid and weak! It makes us proud and strong!_

_But is strength what I want?_ Icepaw just popped the thought in his mind.

_Without strength… you cannot defend or protect what you love… like those around you._

If he were weak, he wouldn't be able to protect Pinepaw, Dunepaw, or anyone if anything was to happen.

He felt a shiver run down his spine. Just the thought of it, someone getting hurt because he wasn't strong enough, or weak.

_We are the Ice that the Dark Forest wants to control. _The voice seemed to grow louder._ That means that we are meant for greater things_.

The entrance of camp was now in sight. I hope you are right voice.

Just remember. Strength is power. The voice said fading away now.

He now walked in, and stood in the moonlight for a moment. Now taking a glance at his shadow, he saw his claws longer, and points protruding around his neck.

He was a bit started, but then closed and then he rubbed his eyes with his tail. He opened his eyes and saw that the shadow was back to normal. _Am I that tired?_ Shaking off the weird feeling that he got from looking at the shadow, he slowly walked into the apprentice den.

He saw an empty nest next to Pinepaw. He gave a light smile, as he snuggled in closely, and closed his eyes.

At first the area was nothing, then he woke up to the smell of decay and death. For some reason he couldn't help but letting out a grin the moment these scents touch his nose.

_Breezepelt soon bubbled in, sitting there, irritated._

"_Took you long enough, your brothers and sisters who went to the gathering weren't to long." The other trainees looked at Icepaw, and the mentors usually got their attention by clawing at them._

"_Its time for you to meet your new brother." He said._

_A black pelt with grey streaks, claw marks right under his amber eyes, and on his pelt._

"_Hello brother." He seemed to give a sinister smile._

_It was Clawpelt._

* * *

_**Well well well. It seems that Icepaw is in turmoil with himself, and he has to find out where he truly stands. **_

_**Question time: If you could be a cat from warriors, which one would it be? To be quite honest, I would be Grays Wing, the hardships that he goes through makes him wise and hardened to most situation's that will occur.**_

_**A thing about myself: Usually get 5 hours of sleep a night.**_

_**Well if that is all, leave a review if you want to answer the question or if you have something nice to say, favorite or follow the story if you want to see more, or favorite or follow my profile if you want to read other stories after this one. **_

_**Talon**_


	12. XII: Different Day

**Different Day**

**I have another chapter prepped, but let answer some reviews.**

**Shiverdream: Interesting choice :3 Well that's always fun.**

**Crazychessgurl: A Tawnypelt fan are you :D I love tawnypelt as a character also :3 Also I don't think she demanded respect, she earned it :3**

**Autumnstripe: It would be kinda weird if you were blind and replying to my story… anyways still nice character choice :3**

**Spottedmist: Interesting that you have almost the same personality as Jayfeather… **

**Lightstar: I really didn't know much about Foxleap, but Hollyleaf and Ivypool are great choices :3**

**Guest (:G): Spottedwind does not know that, and he like visits her like how Lionblaze visited Heathertail. I loved Brook too :3 It kinda saddened me when they got exiled from the TORW for that bit in the series.**

**Well if that is all the reviews here you all go another chapter!**

* * *

"_Clawpelt." Icepaw snarled, just looking at this tom filled him with hate and disgust._

"_I can see you already know my new apprentice." Thistleclaw said hostilely, looking at him._

_Icepaw now grinned. "Indeed I am." Looking at Clawpelt, he now spoke humorously. "The last time I met him, he was basically begging for his life."_

_Clawpelt looked furious now. "If you want to fight again, I'm here!"_

_Maggottail raised his tail, bringing everyone to complete silence._

"_There will be sparring of that manor today. Today will be standard training, practicing battle moves." His voice was barely louder than a whisper, yet he could hear every word._

_The mentors nodded their heads, as Icepaw and Clawpelt gave each other a furious stare._

"_Next time out claws meet Icepaw, it will be the end of you." Clawpelt growled, walking away with Thistleclaw._

_oOoOo_

The night went on. Icepaw trained hard, his muscles were sore, but not as badly as the other times. Lucky for him, he did not get another claw mark on his pelt.

He woke up, and no longer saw Pinepaw lying beside him. He got up and stretched his legs. He saw Pinepaw outside the den, grooming her sleek brown fur, so it looks flattened.

He headed towards her. "Morning Pinepaw." He started to groom his own black pelt next to her.

"Hello Icepaw." She smiled at him. "How was the gathering?"

"Spottedwind said hello." He began. "Also we talked about the Dark Forest a bit."

She seemed to put her attention on Icepaw. "What about it?"

"Well." He began. "Apparently a Windclan apprentice woke up in his own blood, and he was lucky to survive."

Her eyes widened. "That's awful!" Her voice filled with worry. "I hope he gets better."

Icepaw sighed. "I hope so too." _I put him there_… He thought to himself.

_But he asked for it._ The voice simply said.

Icepaw really didn't feel like arguing with himself, so he simply ignored the voice.

She yawned; soon moving her eyes onto Icepaw, observing him groom his pelt.

"You missed a spot." She said in a singsong voice.

He looked at her just as he finished grooming himself. "Oh really? Where?"

The brown she cat looked at his pelt. No spots were ruffled. Just like that, she started to bat her paw around his pelt, making it messy and ruffled. "Like there and there."

He purred with amusement. "That's not fair." Soon enough, he started to bat her fur with his paw, to make her pelt ruffled.

She chuckled, and then she playfully pounced on him. The smaller back tom rolled around with her for a bit, trying to pin her down. Soon enough he realize that he could not get on top.

The brown pelted apprentice giggled. "Have I beaten the most skilled apprentice?" She said, after all she was playing around.

"Oh! How could I fall" He over-exaggerated, making his body going limp, and closing his eyes, then putting his tongue out.

She purred in amusement, looking down at Icepaw. She soon got off of him.

"Well who is your pretty friend Icepaw?" He heard a voice suggestively rasp. Icepaw realized it was a voice he rarely heard since he stopped visiting the elder's den after he became an apprentice. It was Graystripe.

Icepaw could feel his pelt grow warm with embarrassment, just the way Graystripe said that, and the way he was looking at them. "This is Pinepaw Graystripe."

He focused his eyes on the brown pelt, and soon reacted. "Ah! I remember you! You were this big last time i saw you!" The elderly gray tom raised his tail a bit, and Pinepaw looked away with embarrassment.

She covered her from paws with her tail as she sat up straight. "Its nice to see you too Graystripe." She said.

"I remember when i was in love." Graystripe said with remembrance.

Both of the apprentice's facial reactions changed almost instant shock, and it was quite easy to tell that their pelts were warming up with embarrassment.

"But those times are long gone… I have Millie by my side." He said, looking lovingly ay his mate, who was sleeping beside him. "Well Ill leave you two to your own now." He said, snuggling close to mille, and slept.

Pinepaw chuckled embarrassedly. They walked over to the apprentice den, and picked a nest to lie in. They chatted a little, chuckling occasionally. He soon felt her tail on his, and by reaction, he twined his with hers, not tightly, but not loosely.

This caught Pinepaw completely by surprise, and she looked straight into his pale icy blue eyes. The embarrassment fading away from her emerald green eyes, which seemed to shine brightly, despite being in the den.

The black apprentice moved his head towards her, his heart was racing.

"Pinepaw!" A voice called out for her. It was quite easy for him to tell it was her mentor. She got up quickly. "Lets go hunting!" His voice sounded distant, but it was getting closer.

She began to walk out, but quickly walked back in, and touched noses with him. She gave a giggle as their noses were no longer touching, and she smile. This jolted something on the inside of him. He felt something warm on the inside. Even warmer than when he met with Spottedwind.

He then heard a voice now. "Icepaw!" He heard his mentor, Bramblestar. He rushed outside the apprentice den to meet his mentor. "Let us piratic our climbing."

"Climbing?" Icepaw echoed, somewhat confused.

Bramblestar looked at his petite apprentice. "Yes, climbing… its mainly a leaf bare skill, but its great to know."

Icepaw nodded slowly. _Climbing… that should be fun_.

He followed his mentor out of camp, and just like the night before, they headed towards the Sky Oak.

Bramblestar looked at his apprentice and smile. His amber eyes locked on him. "You ever climbed a tree?"

Icepaw remembered vaguely one occasion he climbed a tree, but it seemed like forever. "I did, but i particularly didn't like it."

"Well there is a lot of skill involved." He said, still walking beside his apprentice. "To climb a tree, you need good grip, quick reflexes, and much more." He said, now almost in front of the Sky oak. "Also, you should not be afraid of heights, or you could get stuck in the tree."

Icepaw nodded, now looking up at the tree. That is a tall oak tree.

Soon enough he heard the bushes rustling, and he saw a familiar white pelt emerge. If Whitewing was here, that meant that Firepaw wasn't to far.

"Hello Bramblestar." Whitewing said, dipping her head. Firepaw soon walked beside his mentor. "I brought my apprentice to climb. He's been practicing lately."

Firepaw nodded his head confidently. "I bet I could climb better than Tinypaw here!" He sneered, looking at Icepaw. He saw the challenge in his green eyes.

"Oh its on!" Icepaw wasn't completely sure how to climb a tree, but he was not going to back down from this challenge.

Almost as fast as lightning, Firepaw started to climb the tree, getting higher and higher. Icepaw looked up, and began to climb up the tree, lagging way behind him. "You got to go faster than that _Tinypaw_!" He snickered, climbing higher.

Icepaw was now quite angry. He put in all his effort and strength into climbing higher and faster, but it also began to tire him out quicker. Firepaw was also getting tired, as he was still in the lead, and keeping the lead began to become more tiring and tiring as Icepaw began to catch up.

"I will not lose to _Tinypaw_!" He yowled, quickly jumping on other branches, and gained the lead.

But of course, taking the lead also had its risks. Firepaw stopped caring on what branches he jumped on, and then he landed on a branch. Icepaw looked at it closely, and it seemed that it was decaying. It soon snapped under his weight, and he began to fall. A yowl of surprise filled the air.

"Firepaw!" He yowled, with concern in his voice.

_Let him fall_. The voice told him. _He will pay._

Icepaw was tempted to listen to the voice, but then he thought. _Kin only has kin to rely on._

In a split second decision, he jumped, grasping Firepaw by the scruff. They both began to plummet, landing on branches, causing the thin ones to snap. Within a moment, they had lost enough speed to land on a sturdy branch.

He hit the branch with a thud, along with his brother. He groaned in pain, his vision was blurry as the fall was not soft. Dazed, he looked over at Firepaw, who was arched over a branch. He looked unconscious, but then he gave a groan of pain. Icepaw got onto the branch, legs a bit wobbly after the fall. He picked his brother up by the scruff, and slowly went down branches, being careful on what branches he landed on.

Soon enough they were on the ground, and Bramblestar was watching them, as Whitewing had come over with a moss ball with water.

She dripped some of the water on Firepaw's face. "Ugh…" He groaned. "What happened?" He asked, still curled up in pain.

"Well you nearly fell from the halfway mark of the Sky Oak, and you would've continued falling if it wasn't for Icepaw here."

"What?" He sounded shocked. "He saved me?" He shook his head in disbelief, and then looked at him. "Thank you… Icepaw."

Icepaw felt something different. This was one of the first time his brother had called him by his name, and not Tinypaw.

Icepaw smiled, then his legs began to shake a lot. His vision began to tunnel, and then he fell to the ground.

oOoOo

He soon woke up, and found himself in the apprentice den. He looked around, and saw everyone sleeping. How long have I been out?

He slowly got up; now realizing his legs were sore, but not sore enough to prevent him from walking. He knew Spottedwind would be out, as Blacktail had cut off their chat at the gathering.

So he slowly snuck out of camp, trying to reach the Thunderclan-Windclan border.

Rustling through a bush, he saw the all too familiar dappled pelt, her head pointed at the sky, looking at the stars.

"Sorry I'm late." He said normally, limping towards her. "You know, I fell out of a tree." He realized he sounded quite indifferent, as if he didn't care.

She gave a grin, and then let the grin go back down. They chatted a bit, not too much love talk as they have done the past moon. They also talked more about other's loves rather than what they would normally be talking about.

Soon enough, they heard a rustling in the bush.

"Ill go check it out." Icepaw said, slowly limping towards the bush. He peeked his head into it, and saw nothing. _It's gone now…_

He looked at Spottedwind. "It must've been a squirrel or something."

"Well… I should get going." She said, looking at the falling moon, then the field. He nodded, still looking at her as she ran off.

He didn't feel same with her anymore; in fact, it felt like he was talking to someone completely different than the cat he spoke with last moon.

_Where do my dreams lie? Where does my hope lie? Where does my love lie?_

* * *

_**Well well well. I see that Icepaw may no longer be in the phase with Spottedwind, but we will let it develop in later chapters...**_

_**Question: What do you think will happen the next time Spottedwind and Icepaw meet? Do you think that something big could happen?**_

_**A thing about myself: Steam for Life! Add me if you play on steam! Talonbreeze is my user!**_

_**Thank you for taking the time out of your free time to just take a look at my story :3 If you like it, review, if you love it, you should follow and favorite, and if you want to read any future story I come up with, follow my profile :3**_

_**Talon**_


	13. XIII: Following your heart

_**Following your heart**_

_**Not to many reviews this time around, but here are my responses!**_

_**Autumnstripe: No thank you for reading XD Thanks for the support!**_

_**Spottedmist: We'll find out now!**_

_**Shiverdream: ***__**Jimmies rustled**__*****_

_**Ashcat: Its great to see that you loved the chapter! It makes me feel proud that you love his love interests :3**_

_**If that was all, lets get to reading!**_

* * *

The week has been progressing, for the better and the worse for Icepaw. A lot of the attitudes form some cats, such as Firepaw, had changed towards him. Firepaw had completely stopped calling him Tinypaw whenever they met, and treated him more like... a brother.

Dunepaw talked to him occasionally, but he hung out with Acornpaw more often, which didn't bother him as much as he thought, as he understood that his friend adored Acornpaw.

But what worried him was Pinepaw's behavior. It was so sudden, as the days before, she was happy and content. But then, she started to look sad, she felt less energetic, and slept more often. She would not have the same spark in her eyes, and she even seemed to preoccupy herself to not be around him.

Though he had been training with the Dark Forest, he felt powerless to do anything.

_What is the point of having this physical strength if it can't help Pinepaw with her emotions?_ He continued to pace around the front of the apprentice den.

_Stop worrying about her_. The voice said. _She is weak if she is moping about._

_But it makes me feel so… awful. Just can't get my mind off of this_. He continued his pacing.

"Hey Icepaw." He heard a familiar voice that almost made him jump. It was Acornpaw. "What are you doing?"

He sighed. "I'm worried about Pinepaw." Now looking at the dark ginger she cat with four white paws. "She has seemed very… sad recently and—"

"You want to cheer her up?" She finished his sentence. He nodded, as she had read his mind completely.

"Go find out then." She suggested. "She seems so happy around you all the time."

_She always did seem happy around me all the time…_ He thought to himself.

He peeked his head into the apprentice den, and saw Pinepaw lying there, motionlessly, with the exception of her chest rising and falling.

The black apprentice took a deep breath and spoke. "Pinepaw?" He said the concern in his voice. "How are you feeling?"

No response.

He went around so her face was in his view, but she rolled herself so she was facing when he came around.

"Tell me what's wrong Pinepaw?" He said, with fear lingering in his mind.

He could hear the brown cat breathing slowly, as if she was trying to keep calm. She turned her head, exposing her green eyes, them getting glassy as if she was about to cry.

"Tell me." She began, some sadness in her voice. "How long have you been doing this." A tear now ran down her eye.

He was a bit confused. "Doing what?"

She suddenly had a surge of rage. "Doing what?" He flinched when she basically spat at him. "You very know well what! You've been meeting with that Windclan cat!"

His tail went limp, dropping to the ground instantly. His mind whirled._ Oh my Starclan…_

"I thought we had something!" She almost yelled. "And to find out that you were just… just sneaking out to meet with her!" Tears streamed down her eyes right down.

He felt his heart shatter, and his eyes got glassy.

"The hours we spend, with each other… the fun we've had together… I thought it was all genuine…" Her voice was now cracking. She got up and began to walk out of the apprentice den.

Icepaw soon followed her out. "I can explain." He practically begged her.

"There is nothing to talk about." She said, with tears still streaming down her face.

He now ran up to her. She was heading for the camp entrance. "Please hear me out." His voice cracked. "All the moments we spent… they were genuine. I enjoyed every moment—" He was then cut off.

"And what about those moments spent with her?" She said furiously. Other cats looked at them, a lot of gazes of interest.

A tear streamed down, one after another. "Please Pinepaw…" He almost wailed now.

After a pause, he felt a set of claws rake up against the side of his face. Blood welled up.

"I trusted you!" She had begun. "I trusted you with my heart! And-And what did you do? You go meet up with Spottedwind for Starclan knows how long?" More tears began to stream down her face.

He put his head down, letting the blood and tears fall from his face.

"You shattered my heart!" She ran out of camp sobbing.

Dewstream looked at Icepaw, angered and ran after his apprentice.

He collapsed in the clearing of camp, and begun to sob himself. _How could I do this to her? _He took a deep breath, and the tang of blood touched his nose. He expected it to do something. Yet… nothing occurred.

"Icepaw!" Dunepaw ran up to his friend. "What happened?"

He looked at his friend, with his glassy, pale blue eyes. "I hurt her… I hurt her bad…"

"Then go after her if you care." Acornpaw now ran up beside Dunepaw. "If she means that much to you, then go after her, and let her now how genuinely sorry you are!"

Icepaw pushed himself up, blinking some of the tears out of his vision. "Your right!" He said, sniffing. He ran out of camp, and his friends followed him.

_I hurt her. _He told himself. I have to make things right.

_No you don't_. The voice said sternly_. She will heal_.

_I will not sit idly while I'm the cause of her pain._ He told the voice. _In my heart, this is the right thing. _

Running through the forest, he followed the scent of Pinepaw and Dewstream. The scent of Dewstream seemed to get closer and closer, and the scent of Pinepaw seemed to be farther and farther. Soon enough, he found himself at the abandoned Twoleg den, and he realized how close he was to the border.

He took a deep breath, and looked around. Something else in the air, that smelled so different from Thunderclan, but so familiar.

He soon saw a bit of red on the ground, he took a deep breath and smelt it. It was blood. His heart stopped, and his blood ran cold. I hope Pinepaw is fine.

He followed the crimson red trail, and then he saw a grew and white pelt, with claw marks on the cats shoulders. There was a huge gash in the area below the neck.

"Dewstream!" Dunepaw ran up to him. "What happened?"

"Rouges…" He breathed heavily." Told Pinepaw to run for it… she ran…that way." Lifting his tail weakly.

Icepaw looked at Dewstream, then at Acornpaw and Dunepaw. "Ill go after Pinepaw. Carry him back." He turn to start walking.

Dunepaw had a hesitant look. "I need to do this by myself, and Dewstream won't live if you don't take him right now."

He began to spiny in the direction that Dewstream had pointed.

His heart began to race as he ran. The fear of the possibility of her getting hurt sunk in.

Ill do anything to keep her safe.

With each stride, the scent got closer and closer. Pinepaw's fear scent drenched the air around, with a also all to familiar scent of…

Twolegplace… said the voice.

Soon enough, he found himself looking around. A smooth stone pathway. He then saw three cats in the distance, one which was no other than Pinepaw, and two other grey cats

"Im coming Pinepaw!" He yowled. The black apprentice sprinted towards the cats.

"Stop running you brown cat." One of the cats said. "We just want to get to know you."

"We won't hurt yo—" The other one had stopped talking to look at Icepaw. Pinepaw's eyes seemed to glow with hope.

"Leave her alone now or else!"

"Oh ho ho!" The grey tom with green eyes looked at the tom with blue eyes." Looks like we got ourselves a hero!"

"He's so tiny!" The amber-eyed tom began to laugh. "What do you say brother? Do we treat him like we treated that white tom from earlier?"

Icepaw's blood went cold. They did that to Dewstream?

His vision flickered, than a beam of light covered his vision.

He found himself walking to two roughs, and a she cat being bothered by them. The rouges reeked of Shadowclan.

They looked at him, and laughed. He walked up to him, and tried to spite him. Soon enough, he felt his own claws rake across the white tom's throat, and the other rouges went away.

The flashing light hit him once more, and he was back in reality, and he was gone for a mere second.

He saw the cat with blue eyes walk up to him. "Go away now, and we may let you live."

He looked at Pinepaw, and her eyes were filled with fear and doubt.

The black tom knew what he had to do… even if it cost him his life.

He flung his white paw; claws unsheathed, straight across the throat of the tom, blood splattering on his face.

"Ugh…" The blue-eyed tom choked up blood, and fell on the ground, his eyes focused on Icepaw. Crimson red flowed out of his neck, as his chest began to rise and fall slowly.

It soon went up, and came down, not coming back up.

Killing the blue-eyed tom, he now looked at the amber-eyed tom. "You should go now, or suffer the same fate."

The amber eyed tom's fear scent now made the area reek. He nodded fearfully and sprinted away.

Now looking at Pinepaw, he spoke. "I came here for you."

Her eyes got glassy, as she ran up to him. "Thank you so much Icepaw!" She was now sobbing, her head on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry for what i did you earlier.

He looked at the brown she cat, and his eyes became glassy as well. "Its all fine now… after all, you have nothing to be sorry for, as i am the one who is sorry." He now looked at her, with tears of joy streaming down his face. "I came here to tell you I truly love you."

She looked at him with her green eyes; tears of joy streaming down her face. "I love you too Icepaw. She proceeded to touch noses with him.

He felt his heart race, as this feeling made him feel good, the fact that he had someone who he could care for, and someone who would care right back. He could've never felt this way with Spottedwind.

She then moved her head back, with a smile on her face. "Lets go back to camp." He suggested.

She nodded her head. "Sure thing." The brown she cat padded up beside him, and twined her tail around his. He immediately twined his, without a second thought.

_I see you found strength in your weakness. The_ voice said, calm instead of angry.

_What do you mean?_ Icepaw asked the voice.

_I have veins of ice Icepaw, and it doesn't melt. It gets colder…"_ The voice trailed off.

This confused Icepaw. _What are you?_

_Not what Icepaw… who…_ The voice faded away.

He looked his left and saw Pinepaw, who had her eyes glued to him. He kept her by his side so their pelts were touching each other.

He found the happiness he sought after for so long, and it wasn't because he became strong. It wasn't because he made others fear him.

_He followed his heart._

* * *

_**He said it! I had this chapter planned a week before writing it! And yes Shiverdream, you were right the entire time! She was in the bush! **_

_**Question time! How do you feel about the warrior code? Do you sometimes feel like its too vague or too strict? Of course I do! But its only strict to a certain level on somethings, then a bit loose on others.**_

_**Thing about myself: I want to be a Surgeon for the military when I grow older :3**_

_**Well that is all! Again, I would love to thank those who take time out of their lives to read this fanfic, and if you have something to say, review, if you like it, fav or follow, and if you love my writing, fav or follow me.**_

_**Talon**_


	14. XIV: Talks and Confessions

_**Talks and Confessions**_

_**I will not lie, I had a bit of a rough time writing this chapter. No worries, time to answer some questions!**_

_**Owenstarr: Thanks Owen! I also love the fact that you send me PM's every so often!**_

_**Spottedmist: No… Firestar is still very dead :P Sorry for the confusion.**_

_**Autmnstripe: :3**_

_**Kiwi: Nice to see you back! I agree with everything you had to answer for, and good luck with your dreams!**_

_**Ashcat: She already found out about him visiting the Dark Forest, and your other statement will be revealed within time. What you said about the warrior code is very true also XD**_

_**Well if that is all the reviews, time to get ready for another Chapter!**_

* * *

Icepaw and Pinepaw ran into camp, and the sun was now falling into the horizon.

"Pinepaw! Icepaw!" He heard Dunepaw call out to them. "Your ok!" The sandy pelted apprentice walked up to the sleek black apprentice, and saw his paw, covered with blood. "What happened out there?"

He remembered how he killed that gray tom, tearing through the cats flesh. It was in defense of Pinepaw.

Pinepaw was looking at him now, and she could see that he was reliving that moment. "How is Dewstream?" She asked Dunepaw, changing the subject.

"He's not doing good." Acornpaw now said, her voice filled with worry and fear.

Pinepaw's eyes widened as she ran to the medicine cats den. Icepaw felt bad. If he hadn't gone to meet Spottedwind, Pinepaw wouldn't have gone out of camp, and Dewstream wouldn't have gotten hurt.

Padding over to the medicine cat den, he saw his mother and father, Brightheart, Cloudtail, and Bramblestar standing there, worrying about it. Soon enough Cloudtail led Brightheart out of the den, who had tears streaming down her eyes. Icepaw moved forward and saw Dewstream, lying there wounded. The cobwebs that were on his wounds were covered in blood, and his chest was rising up and down.

Slowly, the grey and white tom opened his eyes, and moved his eyes around, blinking to dilate his eyes to the lighting. He smiled as he caught his eye on Pinepaw and Icepaw.

"Come here Icepaw." Dewstream said weakly.

Slowly, Icepaw walked up to the young warrior.

His eyes focused on Icepaw. "I don't know if I'm going to make it." He said, somewhat sadly, but at the same time, with acceptance.

Icepaw looked away from a moment, then looked back at him. "Don't talk like that… you'll be fine." Greif in his voice made it obvious that he himself didn't believe that.

Weakly, he shook his head. "We both know that I won't." He coughed up some blood. "I can't feel my legs anymore." He lifted his head a bit, and looked at his legs. Slowly laying his head back on the ground, he now looked at Icepaw.

Pinepaw was standing next to Icepaw, and her eyes were filled with sadness and grief. "I wish I didn't' run from camp." She said.

He looked at her, with a weak smile. "You have nothing to blame yourself for." He moved his paw towards hers. "I just want to let you know something." Another cough of blood came out, and it somewhat covered his lips. He made no effort to clean the blood off. "I have enjoyed the time I had you as my apprentice, and i enjoyed every moment we spent together." He said softly, and then his eye had a certain look. One Icepaw couldn't tell. "But you always seemed to enjoy being around Icepaw." He took a deep breath, and weakly raised his head, looking at her straight in the eyes. "I just want you to know something." He coughed once more.

"What is it Dewstream..." She trailed off, her eyes getting glassy.

"I had loved you, after spending the first moon with you… but you made it quite clear that you loved Icepaw, even before you left the nursery." His eyes grew glassy. "You showed your affection for him after the little prey skirmish with that one apprentice." Tears began to stream down his face, as he laid his head back on the ground.

Now moving his eyes towards Icepaw, he opened his mouth, but then was interrupted by a series of violent shivers. His chest rose and fell rapidly. "Take… care of… her… for me… " His voice sounded strained." Make sure… she's happy… and… cherish her…" The last word that came out of his mouth finished with his breath, and his chest lowered slowly, and his eyes that were once filled with life grew dull.

Tears were now streaming down Pinepaw's face. She touched her nose to her mentors pelt. Icepaw looked at Pinepaw, who was sobbing.

Jayfeather's blind gaze soon landed on the both of them. He soon walked over to them, and led them both out of the medicine cat den.

"Its my fault." Pinepaw quietly said now, still sobbing with sadness. "If i didn't run out he would—"

"Don't blame yourself." Icepaw said, looking at Pinepaw. "You didn't know that he would've died defending you." He now looked down at his bloodstained paw. "Just look into my eyes, and breathe in ands out slowly."

She somewhat hesitated at first, then looked into his Icy blue eyes, and took deep breath, and exhaled slowly.

"If it wasn't my fault, why do i feel so guilty?"

He focused on her emerald green eyes. "You didn't kill him." He began. "Those rouges did…" He trailed off hesitantly. "And i made them pay."

Soon enough Dewstream body was moved to the clearing. Bramblestar looked down at the dead warrior. His face was filled with sadness. The night went on, Icepaw and Pinepaw were sitting next to each other, as they were around the grey and white tom's body.

Brightheart and Cloudtail were sitting in front of the body, looking down at their fallen son, and his siblings were sitting beside their parents.

Soon enough, it was moon high; Sandstorm and Graystripe carried the body of Dewstream out of the camp.

"It is a bad day to lose a clan mate." Bramblestar began. "As it is never great to see some cat who meant so much. Not just as another cat, but as family member. As a friend." Bramblestar said genuinely. "Let us hope he will receive many seasons of rest in Starclan.

He looked around the camp, and his mentor's eyes had landed on him.

"But today… today three cats have shown qualities of being a warrior."

Icepaw was confused at first, but then he realized what he meant. He was going to get his warrior name.

"Icepaw, Dunepaw and Acornpaw." He had begun." You three handled a situation that most apprentices would not be able to keep their nerves, and Icepaw had rescued a apprentice from eminent danger." He now looked at them.

"Now step forward." He said, and the three apprentice's stood forward.

"I Bramblestar, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these three apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior of Thunderclan in their turn."

Bramblestar gave a quick glance at the three apprentices'.

"Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect the warrior code and defend your clan even at the cost of your life?"

The three apprentices did not even hesitate.

"I do."

"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior names."

The leader look at Dunepaw.

"Dunepaw fro, this day forth you will be known as Dunecloud. Starclan honors your calmness and patience."

Then his amber eyes looked at Acornpaw.

"Acornpaw, from this day forth you will be known as Acornfur. Starclan honors you carefulness."

Now his mentor was now looking at his black pelt.

"Icepaw from this day forth you will be known as Icefang. Starclan honors your courage ad skill in battle."

Now he looked at the three newly named warriors.

"We welcome you as full warriors of Thunderclan."

At first there was silence, as most must have felt somewhat bad as their clan mate had died, and some were still grieving.

Some light cheers could now be heard.

Icefang felt somewhat bad, for the fact that Dewstream was no longer with them, but thinking about it, he sacrificed himself so Pinepaw could be safe, and with them today.

Bramblestar had walked back into his den, and the warrior went it their dens. Dunecloud and Acornfur sat next to each other right at the guard post.

Pinepaw ran up to him

"Congratulations." She said, with some happiness in her voice, but was also filled with some sadness.

Icefang looked at the left and then the right. "Don't worry." He leaned, whispering into her ear. "Tonight i will make things right."

Pinepaw's green eyes looked at him. "What do you mean?"

He now looked at the moon, which had begun to look like a claw. "I will, just trust me, and rest easy tonight… today was rough."

She nuzzled the side of his face. "Ok Icefang." The brown tabby she cat proceeded to yawn, then headed for the apprentice den.

Now walking up to Dunecloud, he spoke. "Ill be at the Dirt place." His friend nodded as he proceed to put his head back on Acornfur's shoulder.

He now went into the dirt place tunnel, and he saw the black brambles. He jumped up there, and moved them carefully. He soon exited camp, heading towards the Thunderclan-Windclan Borders.

_What would I tell Spottedwind?_ He knew his heart lied with Pinepaw, but how would she react to this news?

_Tell her the truth._ The voice said loudly_. If it breaks her heart, oh well, she'll get over it._

The voice did have a point. After all his life will be spent with Thunderclan and Pinepaw, not Spottedwind and Windclan.

Soon enough he found himself at the stream, and saw the all to familiar dappled pelt, looking at the stars.

He took a deep breath, and slowly walked up to Spottedwind.

"Hey Spottedwind." He said calmly.

The she cat turned around, with thought filling her eyes.

There was a moment of awkward silence, as they both looked at each other awkwardly.

"I have something to tell you." They both said in unison, breaking the silence.

"Um…" Icefang said, somewhat confused. "You go first."

"Are you sure?" She asked nervously, shifting her paws. "Mine is somewhat big news."

He sighed, as his pelt grew warm with anxiety. "You can go first."

"Well… how do I explain this to you…" Her eyes moved to him, with some form of conflict in them. "Well I'm expecting kits. Blacktail's kits!" She couldn't help saying, semi excitedly.

"Congratulations!" He said, happy for her, as it didn't seem to hurt him. "So you will be with Blacktail now?"

"I don't mean to hurt you feelings." She said sympathetically.

He looked at her and smiled. "Don't worry, I've actually come here to talk about a matter similar to this." He began. "Ive happen to fallen in love with a cat in my clan also."

"Oh?" She said surprised. "Well that's good for you Icy!" She playfully nudged him. "I should get going now… Blacktail is going to get worried."

"I'm supposed to be sitting vigil… so I should hurry back too." Icefang said. "Good luck with your kits!"

"Don't worry!" She said. "Ill keep in touch with you." She started to walk away. "We will always be friends!"

He began to run back to camp and got back undetected. and the night was nice, since he got a burden off of his chest.

The sun rose slowly, and he headed to the warrior's den, and chose one of the new nests. He laid down and couldn't help but miss Pinepaw's pelt next to his. He sighed and drifted off to sleep.

And when he slept, he did not dream of the Dark Forest.

* * *

_**Well here we go, Icefang now telling the truth to Spottedwind, Dewstream telling Pinepaw his final words! So much happened this chapter, but that means, another chapter is down, but plenty more to go! I hope you loved this chapter and also time for the Question!**_

_**Which cats would've had an interesting love life? I honestly think that Crookedstar and Bluestar would've, if they were a legit couple (Leader Ship for Life!)**_

_**Thing about myself: Hating VEX tech!**_

_**Well if that is all, leave a review if you want, if you like this story, follow and favorite, if you love my writing, follow and favorite me, and always, be happy!**_

_**Talon**_


	15. XV: A Day that will not be Forgotten

_**A Day that will not be forgotten**_

_**Ok let me respond to the reviews!**_

_**Sunnypelt: I love that pairing two to replace the FireXSand ships XD**_

_**Ginger pup: Thanks! I didn't want Spottedwind to hate him because that seems so… Ashfur. Its great to see that you love Unbroken too :3**_

_**Kiwi: Don't feel dumb XD I was stumped too and I was thinking for a comedic sense as in what happens when a leader is like in the middle of a Warrior ceremony, and he stops mid sentence to think of a warrior name.**_

_**Shiverdream: Just to let ya know, whenever I make something go smooth for someone, something terrible may happen. And also like stated before, I didn't want Spottedwind to seem like an Ashfur.**_

_**Crazychessgurl: Thanks :3**_

_**Now let this be a chapter that yall will love :3**_

* * *

It had been a moon and a half since Icefang had stopped visiting the Dark Forest, and he had to admit. Life was great. He didn't wake up sore muscles, nor did he wake up with scratches.

But since he became a warrior, he missed waking up beside Pinepaw every morning, but he did share morning prey with her, before she went off with Cinderheart to train. Even when she was training, he always found himself occasionally checking up on her by somehow being around the area she was.

Of course, it didn't take long for Bramblestar and Squirrelflight to see that he was trailing the apprentice, so they did what would be the simplest thing. They gave him more duties.

Soon enough, Icefang found himself on more hunting patrols, more border patrols, and more guard duties.

He sat at the entrance of camp on that fine noon, observing the clearing and bushes as the sunlight peaked through the leaves of the trees. He yawned looking around. _I wonder what Pinepaw is doing._

He looked through the clearing of leaves and saw that the sun was at its highest point in the day.

Pinepaw had a different mentor before Cinderheart. Amberflower was assigned at first, but then she revealed that she was expecting kits from Suntail. Then Cinderheart was selected to train her instead.

He felt a nudge, and saw that Blossomfall was dismissing him from his post, as his watch was over. Icefang moved out of his spot and Blossomfall now took his spot.

He walked into camp, and saw Smokepetal sitting next to Snowcloud, having what seemed to be a normal conversation. The young black warrior now looked to the elder's den, and saw Cloudtail talking with Sandstorm, Millie, Graystripe and Purdy. Now looking towards the apprentice den, Creampaw was talking to Firepaw, with the glint in her eyes.

Ashpaw was talking to her brother Brackenpaw, laughing and possibly gossiping about all the love that was in the air.

He saw that Acornfur and Dunecloud had taken the last piece of prey. He turned straight around to head out of camp.

"Where are you going?" A voice familiar was asking for his intents. He turned around and saw it was Squirrelflight.

"I'm going out to hunt." He said, now pointing his tail where the fresh kill pile once was. "I saw the pile was empty."

The ginger deputy nodded her head as he continued out of camp.

He continued in the direction to the Shadowclan border.

_Maybe ill be back before Pinepaw is._ He thought. _I hope I catch a nice fat squirrel, or maybe a vole, Pinepaw loves voles, it would be quite the surprise_. He chuckled at the thought of it.

He heard rustling and soon perked his ears back.

Lifting his tail up, he turned around, and slowly stalked his way to the sound. He then peaked his head from the tall grass, and saw a thrush. It was somewhat plump, possibly from feeding from Twoleg scraps.

He slowly got closer and closer to it, and now, he was no more than a fox length away, the thrush now all of a sudden, began to sing. Icefang took a moment to listen to the melody that the bird was producing.

It soon stopped singing, and it began to slowly walk away.

_I wish i didn't have to eat you…_ Icefang think to himself. _But Starclan provided you to us._ He now got ready to pounce. Swiftly, he pounced; startling the thrush, then killed it with a swift bite.

Semi-satisfied with his catch, he picked it up, and began to walk.

Aside from the thrush, he could smell something marshy… and familiar. He put his catch down, and began to climb a tree.

Being able the scent from the top of the tree, he got closer and closer to the scent until it was at its strongest. He smelt a strong Thunderclan scent too, and it was quite fresh also.

"… so how are our kits doing?" A familiar voice could be heard.

"They are doing just fine." A voice that sounded too familiar. "Thistlepaw and will become the warrior he always wanted to be, and Pinepaw is fine too." There was a glint of love in the white cats eyes. Then it hit him. It was Waverunner. "I wish we could be together."

He peaked over the branch and saw a pelt that was an exact copy of Pinepaw's pelt, and he smelt of Shadowclan.

It suddenly hit him. The familiar brown pelt, the Shadowclan scent. Waverunner never mentioned the father, and this cat had the pelt of Pinepaw. The father was Owlclaw… the Shadowclan deputy.

"We will be… let it be in this life, or in Starclan." Owlclaw now nuzzled Waverunner on the side of the face. "I need to get back to Shadowclan." She nodded as she saw the tom turn and walk to his clan camp.

Icefang went back to the tree he had originally climbed, and picked up his catch, and he had to wonder. Why would Waverunner take a Shadowclan mate? _I wonder if she has ever spoken about him to her own kits…_ his thoughts trailed off.

Within time, he got back to camp, and of course, the guard on duty was Talonclaw, which means he was gone for a quarter of the time. He looked at the tom with a huge scar on his side, caused by a badger just moons before Icefang's own birth.

As he walked into camp, Patchpaw and his mentor left, possibly to hunt ant train. He saw Smokepetal now conversing with her brother, Flameclaw, and saw Dunecloud talking to Pinepaw.

The sun was now falling, but it still was quite bright outside.

He now walked up to Pinepaw. She turned her head towards him and smiled. "Hello Icefang." A purr of delight could be heard.

He wanted to tell her about her father's identity, and how he was from Shadowclan, but quickly decided against it, for all the potential problems it could cause.

He put his prey in front of her. "I caught this for you." He gave a light smile.

"How sweet." Pinepaw said with graciousness in her voice, then bopped his nose. "How are you doing?"

Icefang flinched back as he did not expect her to do that. "I'm just a bit tired." He told her honestly. "With all these assignments placed on me and all."

"Then rest then." Dunecloud said, standing next to Pinepaw. "If anything big happens, one of us will wake you up." Pinepaw nodded soon after.

Icefang nodded at the sandy colored warrior. "Ok then." He simply replied to his friend. Glancing at the warrior's den, and then to Pinepaw, he nuzzled the side of her face. "Ill see you later."

She purred and nodded. Icefang now began to head to the warriors den.

He peaked his head into the den, and saw it was empty. It was nice and cool in the shade of the den, than the heat of the sunlight, especially since his pelt. He picked one of the nests, and lay in the cool bedding.

He closed his eyes, and then darkness engulfed him.

_He now found himself in the darkness, and then, some light from the sky._

_Different cats emerged from the dark around the positioned light onto the smooth stone._

"_The cold is getting stronger every day." An old she cat began, then coughing._

_A younger cat looked at her if she was crazy. "Are you daft? What do you mean the cold is getting stronger? Its late summer for crying out loud!" This cat had a dull pelt, and his ribcage slightly was showing, meaning that he would possibly go hungry some nights._

_The old she cat who had a shimmer of blue in her fur in the light, and looked no older than Mistystar._

"_Patience." She basically forced out, with her voice cracking, sounding like a dying hare._

"_My father, and his father before him had waited and that has gotten them death!"_

_She coughed again, and looked at the young tom. "Time brought them to their death. Impatience did. Recklessness did."_

"_Well when will it be time?" He asked the old leopard pelted she cat._

"_Patience." She croaked. "It will be time soon enough." _

_The vision began to fade as he found his surroundings growing suddenly familiar in a very bad way. Then he took a deep breath, and smelt the scent of death. Oh no…_

"_Why have you stop coming to training?" A voice said sharply, and in a scolding manor. "Just because you're a warrior doesn't mean you know everything."_

"_You have nothing else to offer me Breezepelt." Icefang basically spat_

_The amber-eyed tom shook his head as if he knew everything. "You may think you don't need us, but in reality, you do." Now the sleek black tom turned his back on Icefang. "But there dis a way for you to earn a respectful place back in our ranks."_

_Icefang stopped to think for a moment. "What... what do you mean?" Did the tom think he wanted to rejoin the ranks of the Dark Forest?_

_Breezepelt now turned his head and smiled. "Well you se, we won't let you leave until you complete this one task." He flicked his tail and Clawpelt appeared, dragging something along with him._

_His blood ran cold. It was Pinepaw._

"_You see." He began. "When i was a mere Dark Forest initiate, like you, they made me do something that was so strict in what i believed." His eyes filled with remembrance, as if he was reconciling in those moments. "And you have not just done that yet." He said with a sinister smile growing on his face._

_Pinepaw stood up, a bit wobbly, as if she had struggled to get free from Clawpelt. A nick on her ear was implying that he hurt her to threaten her._

_He now began to run to Pinepaw, where Willowpaw stopped him._

"_Do you mind telling Icefang what he must do to pass Clawpelt?" Icefang now had his eyes focused on the battle scarred tom._

_His pelt was missing fur and more claw marks were on his face than before._

"_I would be delighted Breezepelt." The Windclan warrior now looked at Icefang with his yellow eyes. "We know you're against hurting those you care about Icefang." Clawpelt said with a smile. "But for Pinepaw, you will be doing much more than hurting."_

_He now looked at Pinepaw's eyes. Her stare had a familiar look. Fear._

"_You will have to kill her, or we will kill you, then her."_

_His heart froze. Kill her? He though for a moment. This though would've never crossed his mind, and he knew he could never bring himself to do such a thing._

"_You have thirty seconds to chose." Breezepelt said, looking at Icefang with a slightly amused face._

_Think Icefang think! He needed a plan, something to avoid doing this._

_Then he thought of something, and it was a risky plan._

"_Times up Icefang." Breezepelt might have just said it with a singsong voice. "What is your choice?"_

_He sighed. "May I at least say my goodbyes?"_

_Breezepelt was hesitant for a moment. "You have fifteen seconds starting now."_

_Icefang sprinted to Pinepaw._

"_Ill get us out of here." He whispered quickly._

"_Ten seconds." Breezepelt called out._

"_I want you to run away from this place when i raise my white paw to strike." He explained quickly. She nodded lightly._

"_Five Seconds."_

"_I love you." He said, touching her nose with hers, and then slowly backed away._

"_Times up Icefang." Breezepelt chuckled. "Now spill some blood, or we will spill yours."_

_White hic Icy blue eyes, he looked at Breezepelt, who had excitement in his amber eyes, and had a grin stretched across his face._

_He took a deep breath and now, and looked at Pinepaw. "Goodbye Pinepaw." He made his voice sound cold. The black tom now looked at his paws, and extended his claws forcefully._

_Pinepaw got up slowly, making it seem like she was backing away in fear._

_He lifted his white paw up, so his sharp claws could be seen._

_Now was the time._

_She began to bolt away, as he followed behind her._

"_After them!" An enraged yowl from Breezepelt could be heard._

_Soon enough he felt a weight land on his back._

"_You thought you could run away now did you?" It sounded like Thistleclaw._

_Pinepaw was getting farther, but Clawpelt and Willowpaw were gaining on her._

_Clawpelt soon pounced onto her. They were now face to face with each other. Icefang used his strength to push Thistleclaw off of him and started to sprint to Clawpelt. She would die if he didn't act. All the promises he made to Dewstream would be broken if he did not keep her safe!_

_Willowpaw soon bit Clawpelt's scruff, and threw him away from Pinepaw._

_He ran up to Willowpaw. "You aren't with them?" She nodded with agreement._

"_Onestar wanted me to spy, so here I am." She now looked over her shoulder, at most of the Dark forest cats charging._

"_Ill hold them off, just go!" He shouted to them, as he charged back to the cats. Next thing he knew he was surrounded by Dark Forest cats._

"_We gave you a chance to rejoin our family." He could hear Breezepelt say. "And you threw it all away."_

_His icy blue eyes looked at their faces, and their eyes had the same expression on them. Hate… _

_Death to the Traitor._

_He kept his cool, keeping his pelt unruffled as they closed in on him._

_Seeing movement his left, he saw a white pelt, and then pain shot in his hind leg. Then Thistleclaw who standing a few fox lengths away charged, opening a new wound on his face._

_Now he moved in, grabbing him by the scruff, throwing him to the left. It didn't matter of course as Clawface now cut a long streak onto the left side of his pelt, ripping off fur and flesh._

_Wincing in pain, he saw Salmonstream and Vole step throw a flurry of claw, marking his right side with crisscross claw marks._

_He yowled in pain, as blood came out of his wounds. Soon enough he fell to his stomach, as blood began to run down his fur._

_He now saw Clawpelt charging him. He got to his feel luckily, and tried to jump up, but Clawpelt anticipated this move, and used his hind legs to kick the wounded warrior._

_Icefang rolled for a moment, and landed on his belly._

_He now started to feel faint. He saw his vision flicker._

"_Any last words?" Breezepelt said, walking up to him._

_Icefang took a deep breath and closed his eyes._

_I'm going to die… He thought to himself._

_But then the scent of his own blood overwhelmed him, and a surge of energy shot throughout his body._

_This surge of energy was different though. It was familiar, but also very different from the other times. He got up on all fours, and felt his wounds go numb. He looked down at his claws, and they got bigger. Then he felt something constrict his neck, but he seemed… used to it. A light veil of smoke covered his wounds and soon enough his body, as he stood._

_He tried to speak, but he spoke no words. He now realized that he was no longer in control._

"_Time for my revenge." A voice so familiar spoke out of his mouth. Now his body started to walk._

_The Dark forest cats seemed startled at first, but then Thistleclaw was the first to charge. Soon enough, he felt himself running towards him, and then found Thistleclaw lunging to bite him. As fast as lightning, he found his claws stabbed in to the bottom of his jaws. The fear flushed into Thistleclaw's eyes before he felt his paw yank towards him, and he faded away._

_A saw a flash of a pelt to the left of him, and he knew from the white pelt, it was Snowtuft. He felt his face give a sinister smile, and he saw the white tom was attempting to charge him._

_Snowtuft jumped towards him, but whatever was controlling him made a movement so his belly was with his, and then he felt his claws over line the scar that the white pelted tom had once before, killing him as his white pelt faded into the air._

_Darkstripe and Clawface stood fast. Icefang felt his paws stop moving, as he found himself observing their stances. Icefang now felt himself running towards them, and then felt a scratch on the side of his pelt; as Darkstripe managed to get a single swipe, before he saw Clawface get knocked to the ground, back first._

_Darkstripe had his back arched, getting ready to pounce. He turned around to find himself back first with Darkstripe on him. To Icefang, it seemed like Darkstripe would be able to stop him, and then he felt his paw strike forward, slicing Darkstripe's throat open. A garbled cry for help managed to escape his mouth before he faded away._

_Quickly getting onto his feet, he saw Clawface charge and pounce his back, digging his claws into Icefang's back. He felt the pain shoot through his back as a growl of pain came out. Now he felt his body violently shaking, meaning whatever was controlling his body was trying to shake off the battle-scared warrior off of him._

_His back felt unburdened now, and quickly turned around to see the brown tom on his side. He quickly charged the tom as he got up, and knocked him off balance. Soon having the advantage, he started to slash his claws repeatedly over Clawface's face, causing multiple lashes to appear, cutting over his nose, in and over his eyes, and soon enough, he simple crunched at the back of his neck, successfully snapping it. The brown-scarred tom now started to fade away, as he now turned to see Mapleshade, who stood horrified at the brutality._

_He started to charge her, and she began to run away from him._

_He soon found his claw digging into her pelt, and then he heard a snap, and her leg was turned in an awkward manor. She gave a yowl of pain as he stared at the bone that was sticking out, with blood oozing from the wound._

_He then felt a set of paws push him off of Mapleshade, and then he turned his head to see Breezepelt, Salmonstream and Volestep._

_Salomstream and Volestep nodded as Breezepelt spoke to them. Then Breezepelt picked up Mapleshade, and carried her off._

_Salmonstream and Volestep charged him, implying that they were going to attempt to overpower him. For a second he made himself vulnerable._

_What is this thing doing? He asked himself as he saw Volestep on him now, who had a confident face. His face soon twisted with pain as he looked down, and saw that whatever had been controlling him had his claws sticking out towards the sky, as Volestep impaled himself with his claws. Then he felt his paw horizontally move, and he sliced him open, and he began to bleed profusely. He now pushed him off of him; Icefang's belly was covered in the blood of Volestep._

_Salmonstream looked horrified as he moved his cold eyes onto him. He walked slowly towards him as he walked away from the body that was still giving spasms of pain._

_Salmonstream opened his mouth. "Please don't kill me! I didn't mean harm! I was just following orders!" Fear laced in his voice as he attempted to beg for his life._

_He heard himself laugh, and then spoke. "Your life means nothing to me!" He ran up to him and like a pair of jaws, he clasped his claws into his throat, then tearing back._

_He yowled in pain, and then gurgled for help, soon collapsing to the ground, as Icefang saw he was cleaning his claws on the tom that was dying right in front of him._

_Clawpelt was now standing there, confidence gleaming in his eyes. "Its just you and me Icefang." There was no fear in his voice, but instead there was something else. Was it excitement?_

"_I am not Icefang!" He heard his voice say. He was confused at first but then he remembered._

_Not what… who…_

_He now saw himself charging towards Clawpelt who was also charging him. They both jumped at each other, colliding into each other. Claw to claw, they slashed at each other, parrying each others attacks, both cats getting new claw marks on their pelts, on their leg._

_Clawpelt now bit into Icefang's leg, and he yowled in pain. Icefang lashed his claws across his face, removing fur and some flesh._

_He winced in pain as Clawpelt back up, a sinister smile on his face, tasting his own blood. "Not so strong are you?" He hissed. "I told you when our claws meet I would kill you. And i will!" He charged at him again attempting to throw him off balance._

_Icefang saw a weakness in his stance, and threw his head under him, and then twisted around and threw him against the ground. And with haste, he twisted his own body, and found himself on top of him, claws at his throat._

"_Go Ahead!" He heard maniacal laugh come from him. "Do it Icefang!"_

"_I am not Icefang!" He dug his claws into his throat, breathing heavily and staring into Clawpelt's yellow eyes._

"_I am Scourge!"_

_He felt his claws drag down, slicing him open._

_Clawpelt's maniacal cackles soon turned into garbled attempts to breath. Then all he could see was the bubbles of blood slowly disappear. He got off of Clawpelt, and soon took a deep breath._

_The unbearable pain hit him as he saw the smoke fade away from him, and his claws seemed to retract. Now collapsing to the ground, and closed his eyes, being engulfed in the darkness._

* * *

**_The moment you all were expecting indirectly! His ability going on a murderous rampage! Not only that, but in the Dark Forest!_**

_**I planned this chapter long before, and originally, I was going to have the ending of the story be this moment, but then I realized that he really isn't completing the prophecy I made him involved in. And now lets talk about those shady 2 in the vision he had. **_

_**Question: Who do you think those cats were? What do you think they meant when they mentioned the Cold is growing stronger? What could be their history?**_

_**Thing about myself: I love Apple products :3**_

_**I hope you loved this chapter! If you want to voice your opinion review, if you want to read more, follow and favorite and if you want to see more made by me, follow and favorite me! Thanks for reading!**_

_**Talon**_


	16. XVI:Shining light in the Dark

_**Shining light in the Dark**_

_**Sorry for not posting a chapter in a week! Ive been feeling a bit… unmotivated, and a bit of a writers block has hit me! Atlast it is here , and time to answer all the fabulous reviews I got!**_

_**Crazychessgurl: Aw! Thanks! I like Tawnypelt too honestly. Shes not my favorite, but I like her unlike some of those haters!**_

_**Sunnypelt: That may be a good idea actually! I cant wait to see what I will come up for that.**_

_**Shiverdream: I got a good laugh out of the sarcasticness :3**_

_**Raven that Flies straight: He wasn't saying or thinking it, Scourge himself was.**_

_**Autumnstripe: Thanks for lovin my story!**_

_**Firestar of Fire: I have a general idea…**_

_**Ivysky820: Thank you for loving my chapter! I hope I can sum up the other chapters like the last one!**_

_**Moonstar: Well heres a new chapter!**_

_**Ccee633: Well it was about 3 moons with a lot of time skips, so you don't see much training, and I never actually planned for her mentor to say that… it just kinda… happened…**_

_**Gingerpup: I like your guest, but it has much more meaning than that.**_

_**Ashcat: My jimmies have been rustled… Stonefur and Lepardstar are still very dead thou.**_

_**Guest: Holster the caps lock! Its here!**_

* * *

_Pinepaw continued to run with Willowpaw as they constantly checked back and made sure they were alone. Knowing now that they were alone, they both slowed down, knowing that they could rest for a bit._

"_So what just happened there?" She asked taking a deep breath._

_She looked at Pinepaw, panting. "A Dark Forest warrior ceremony gone wrong." Her hazel eyes told her that it wasn't a good thing too._

_She stared at her for a moment. "So… where are we going?"_

_The grayish she cat began to follow the grey she cat. "We are headed to Starclan's borders." _

_Pinepaw widened her eyes. "Starclan?" She had a voice filled with surprise._

"_Yes. Starclan." Willowpaw said, rolling her eyes, continued to walk in the direction. "We got to see it many times every now and then._

"_Did you go in?" Pinepaw asked, her eyes filled with curiosity as she followed her._

"_Uh…" Willowpaw stopped, trying to think of a way to explain. "The mentors usually came along to yell at the Starclan cats, using a lot of words i didn't even know they existed._

"_Ok…" Pinepaw trailed off, still following Willowpaw. _

_Soon enough they reached a huge cloud of black smoke._

_Pinepaw was about to bolt into the smoke._

"_Wait." Willowpaw said. "If you run in without a escort, then you could get lost forever."_

_Lost forever? She thought to herself._

_Soon enough, some of the smoke became grey, and then a white light came out of it. The stars on the pelt reformed, and then color filled in the outline, with grey and white._

_She couldn't help but smile when she saw who it was._

_It was Dewstream._

"_Hello my dear Pinepaw." He spoke._

"_It's nice to see you again Dewstream." She said, happily, running running up to her former mentor. "How have—" She cut herself off when she saw the seriousness in his eyes._

"_I did not come here for idle chatter." He spoke sternly. "I came here to get you home. Safely."_

_As much as she wanted to talk to her mentor, she nodded her head._

_He walked up to her. "I will always watch over you Pinepaw." He calmly said, soon touching his nose with hers._

_oOoOo_

A blinding light flashed in her eyes, and then she woke up in her nest, her ear stinging from the cut that Clawpelt had given her.

She got up, still tired from running away from the Dark Forest. She now focused on Icefang, immediately running out of the apprentice den to go check on Icefang_. I hope he's all right…_

Peeking her head into the den first, she saw Icefang was fine. The only problem though was he was still asleep. She went over to nudge him awake, but before she could even touch him, one claw mark appeared after another.

Initially she freaked out, giving a scream of shock. She quickly looked for the sandy colored warrior Dunecloud, as some more wounds appeared on Icefang.

She then saw it, next to the Dark gingered she cat, Acornfur.

"Wake up!" She hissed quietly into Dunecloud's ear.

"Pinepaw?" He slowly blinked awake, and then yawned slowly. "What's u—" He cut himself off as he moved his nose, as if he was smelling something. Then his eyes widened as he now looked over to see Icefang, who was all bloodied up from the wounds on him.

"I need your gel to get him to the medicine cat den." She worriedly whispered to him, clearly beginning to lose her cool composition.

He got up quickly and put his head under Icefang's lower body, and then Pinepaw put her head under his upper body.

"On the count of three." Dunecloud told Pinepaw. "1…2…3!" They both lifted, and soon enough Icefang was on their back. Then they carefully moved him out of the warrior's den and into the clearing.

Of course, their actions were not unnoticed and by the time they were at the medicine cat den, the whole clan was awake and alert.

When they managed to get inside the medicine cat den, Jayfeather could be seen sniffing at herbs and looking for the proper stuff. Briarlight was focused until she saw her son was the one who was covered in wounds.

"What happened?" She cried out.

"It was the Dark Forest." She said, and Jayfeather's blind gaze seemed to look at her as he walked over to them.

"Start putting pressure on the wounds." He said very calmly. Now he looked at Pinepaw, with his paw's on one wound with the cobwebs. "What did the Dark Forest want with Icefang?"

"They…" She closed her eyes, remembering what Breezepelt said. "They wanted Icefang to kill me." She forced herself to say that sentence. "So he could prove his loyalty to the Dark Forest."

Jayfeather seemed somewhat confused, but at the same time, had some form of understanding in his facial expression.

Icefang's claws seemed to unsheathe and his eye seemed to pinch harder as if he was in pain, trying to defend himself from something.

At this time, most of the bleeding had been controlled, but Icefang was breathing slower, and he was still stuck in his slumber.

"How is he doing?" Bramblestar finally walked into the medicine cat den.

"I don't know." Jayfeather was siting by Briarlight. "Hopefully he will make it."

Pinepaw eyes became semi-glassy. _Might not make it… _Those words echoed in her ears. She moved next to Icefang, whose pelt was covered with cobwebs soaked with different smelling poultices.

She nuzzled the side of his face.

"Don't die Icefang…" She whispered. "Dewstream died for me… i don't want you to die because of me…" She snuggled closer to him and fell asleep.

oOoOo

The next couple of days, Pinepaw didn't train as she refused to leave Icefang unmonitored. He was still breathing of course, which was a good sign. But she had to wonder. What happened in the Dark Forest after she left?

She sighed, still snuggled up next to Icefang.

She then heard a loud growl coming from her stomach. The young apprentice knew she was hungry, but she dared not to move from her spot.

"Go get something to eat Pinepaw." She heard a voice. It was Jayfeather. "Ill make sure he's fine, it's my duty too."

Pinepaw was hesitant at first, but then she nodded, knowing that she would get worse if she didn't eat. She got up and started to head to the fresh kill pile, and saw all the other apprentices look at her.

She continued to walk as the apprentices continued to speak to each other, and of course, she heard her name a couple of times, but she payed no attention as she was more focused on getting prey. She picked up a mouse, and carried it back to the medicine cat den at a somewhat faster pace.

She saw that Jayfeather was still sitting next to Icefang.

She lay down not to far away from Icefang, but just enough to keep an eye on him.

Now looking down at the piece of prey, she licked her lips, and took a bite of it. The flavor the mouse filled her mouth, and then she closed her eyes for a moment.

Now a coughing sound could be heard. She flung her eyes right open when she saw whom it was, she nearly choked on the prey in her mouth.

Icefang was shaking violently as he was lying in his spot. He soon began to gasp for air as the shaking slowed down. Her eyes became glassy as she saw the tom slowly blink, and his breathing stabilized.

"Pinepaw?" His pale blue eyes looked at her, with a hint of relief. "Where are—" He cut himself off, looking to the left and saw Jayfeather, and the scent of herbs was sour to him, making his nose shrivel back. "Oh…"

She couldn't help but giggle as she wiped the tear on her face with her tail. "Its great to see your fine Icefang."

"Ive been better." He now tried to get up, and he winced in pain. Then he lay back down. "Can you get me water?" He asked her, with a somewhat weak voice.

"Sure." She walked out to grab a wet piece of moss from one of the previous rainfalls.

She came back to see Firepaw, Thrushpaw, and Shadepaw, along with Briarlight talking to Icefang, making sure he was alright.

She nudged her way to Icefang and put the piece of wet moss in front of him. He looked at her and smile. "Thank you." He now put the moss in his mouth, and let the water drip in his mouth.

She sat there quite content that Icefang was fine, but then heard footsteps from behind. She looked over and saw Bramblestar walk in. He smiled when he saw her, and then looked at the other apprentices. "Firepaw, Shadepaw, and Thrushpaw, i must ask you to leave."

"Why does Pinepaw get to stay?" The fire colored apprentice asked.

Bramblestar looked at him, and then spoke. "She knows what was happening." He said calmly.

Firepaw looked at the amber-eyed leader as if he was going to question again, but he simply dipped his head in respect, and walked out of the medicine cat den with his sisters.

"You two have some explaining to do." Bramblestar said sternly. He now looked at Icefang." This is why we tried to warn you about going into the Dark Forest."

"It wasn't my fault!" Icefang said semi defensively. "I got summoned there!"

And now he looked at the brown she cat. "And why were you present?"

She looked at her leader and frowned. "They were trying to use me as a test… to get Icefang back on their side."

"What kind of test." Bramblestar's eyes narrowed.

She closed her eyes, and then remembered the amber eyes and the black pelt of Breezepelt. "They wanted Icefang to kill me."

Then Bramblestar's eyes widened with a sudden understanding, now moving his head towards the black pelted warrior. "And you refused?"

Icefang nodded his head. "They tried to kill me…" He now looked as his pelt. "That explains all the scars you see." And now he looked at Bramblestar. "Of course I couldn't just sit there, so i fought back."

"And then what?" Bramblestar's eyes shone with curiosity, and his back was straight upwards, giving his attention to the young warrior.

Icefang got all of a sudden silent. " I slayed…" He looked down. "Something came over me Bramblestar, i couldn't control myself." He added quietly.

Bramblestar now leaned towards Jayfeather and began to whisper to him. Pinepaw wondered what they were talking about, but then she remembered what she heard from them moons ago.

"_Are you sure that Icepaw is the Ice colder than Leaf bare?"_

Jayfeather blindly glared at the apprentice, and then continued to talk to Bramblestar.

She continued to think. _They were looking for the Ice, the love, and the violent breezes. She thought to herself even more. If Icefang is the Ice, and if Breezepelt is the violent breezes, does that make me the love?_ She was confusing herself with this, and she still didn't know where this came from.

"Who were among the dead?" Bramblestar asked, breaking her trail of thought.

"Um…" He scrunched his eyebrows together with thought trying to remember. "I think Snowtuft, Thistleclaw, Clawface, and Darkstripe." He said. "Maggottail, Breezepelt, and Mapleshade got away." He paused for a moment.

"Anything you're not telling us?" Jayfeather said calmly.

"I killed cats of the living too." He said, now looking down. "One from Windclan, one from Shadowclan and one from Riverclan." Bramblestar and Jayfeather's eyes widened.

"We have some explaining to do next gathering." Bramblestar said, looking at the two of them.

Icefang yawned, and rested his head on the ground.

"Come with me Pinepaw." Bramblestar said, looking at the brown she cat.

_Why would Bramblestar need me?_ She thought to herself.

She followed her leader out of the den, leaving Icefang to sleep.

* * *

_**Well here we go! What do you think Bramblestar will ask her? how do you think the other clans are reacting to waking up and finding their clanmate gutted? All these questions to be answer in later chapters!**_

_**Question: What motivates you? Seeing art and singing some songs makes me hype! Winning CSGO games also makes me hyped!**_

_**Thing about myself: I recently joined a fun fourm called Ebonyclan! You should go check them out!**_

_**Well if you liked this story, review, if you love it, follow an favorite it, and if you want to see more from me, follow and favorite me!**_

_**Talon is out!**_


	17. XVII: All Have Feelings

**_All have feelings_**

_**Hello readers! Sorry if I have been posting a bit sporadic recently, its just all the work and studying I need to do! Anyways responding to the reviews!**_

_**Autumnstripe: Nice too see your responses to the questions! I'd agree with music and reading, swimming kinda worries me sometimes…**_

_**Raven that flies at night: I'm glad I surprised you! Thanks for being a loyal reader since Unbroken!**_

_**Guest(Story): Thanks!**_

_**Guest(Kits): Woah woah woah! That's a bit to far into the future now isn't it XD That question caught me off guard too.**_

_**Moonstar: Great to see you loved the chapter also!**_

_**Ginger Pup: Yep explaining will be interesting! I also like Fall Out Boy!**_

_**Well here goes another chapter, hope you like it!**_

* * *

Breezepelt sat not to far from Mapleshade, whose paw was recovering from the breakage. Thistleclaw. Snowtuft. Darkstripe. Clawface. All dead. Why? Because of Icefang and his inner scourge!

"What went wrong?" Breezepelt asked himself. "I chose him because he was the Ice."

Clawpelt bubbled up from the ground, not to far in front of Breezepelt. "What makes that piece of Fox dung so important?" His yellow eyes carried hate.

The black tom with the scar at his throat looked at Clawpelt. "Not to long after I was killed, I learned of some well important information."

This caught Clawpelt's attention. "What was it then?" His gray streaked pelt moved a bit, as he sat down.

Breezepelt now moved his head to look at Clawpelt. "It a whisper deep in the forest that told me an Ice so cold would cause the Forest to burn."

The gray streaked tom looked at Breezepelt, with a look of confusion. "What was that supposed to mean?"

"It was obvious, but how could i get it wrong?" Breezepelt looked at the ground, and now looked at now looked at Clawpelt. "Icefang is the ice, but what will he burn?"

"It doesn't matter." Clawpelt still sitting looked at Breezepelt.

For a moment, their conversation had ended, that was, until Clawpelt began to speak.

"How did you die Breezepelt?"

He now looked at the tom. "I was killed by Icefang's mother, Briarlight." He now looked at the ground, and he touched his tail on his neck, reminding he of the fatal scar. "The day i died, i knew that wrenched medicine cat, Jayfeather, was going to a father to Briarlight's kits." He now looked at Clawpelt now. "So I attempted to kill him."

Somewhat interested, Clawpelt looked at Breezepelt.

"I would've been successful if his mate didn't distract me." He growled at the memory of it. "She stalled me long enough to attack and kill me."

Clawpelt looked at the sleek black tom. "What clan were you from?"

Breezepelt looked at Clawpelt. "I was a part of Windclan." He now looked at the leaves that blocked out the sky. "But now." He chuckled. "Now i belong here."

Clawpelt looked at him, with question in his mind. "Where did you die?"

Breezepelt almost answered instantaneously. "I died in Thunderclan camp on the the Battle of The New Moon."

Still filled with questions like a kit to an elder, Clawpelt asked another question. "Why did you try to kill Jayfeather? He's a medicine cat right?"

Breezepelt nodded. "My father didn't know it. But he had kits born to Thunderclan, and they had a great destiny indeed." He began. "Jayfeather was one of the three who was destined to stop the Dark Forest." He paused for a moment. "After my father found out that his kits were special, he basically abandoned me mentally." He now looked back at Clawpelt. "Life got better after the battle of the Dark Forest. I took a mate, but i still didn't feel satisfied." He continued to talk. "Then Onestar came back from the gathering to prepare for battle on the New moon."

"And then what?" Clawpelt asked, intrigued with the amber-eyed cat's story.

"I killed two different Thunderclan cats that night." He said with a smile on his face. "I would've killed one of my fathers mates if it wasn't for him." He said displeased that he didn't take the life of her. "I don't regret a thing though."

Their talk had stopped for yet another moment. He didn't know what else there was to talk about.

"Do you wish things could be different?" Clawpelt asked, with thought in his question.

If things could be different…

"If things could be different…" He repeated twice. "I would not be here." He simply stated. "If things could be different, Jayfeather would be dead at my paws, my father would be around more often, and i wish i could be still with my ma—" He cut himself off.

"And what?" Clawpelt asked suspiciously. "I wish my father was around." Clawpelt seemed to sigh. "He was never around, and my mother never wished to speak about him."

Breezepelt could share his pain. "Every cat deserves to know their father… no matter how they are."

"Sometimes I quiver of the fact that I may be half clan."

He looked at Clawpelt and he felt something. He felt something so familiar, something he hadn't felt ever since his life had been taken away in the Battle of the New moon.

"Me and Blacktail were born early." He began. "Apparently we were the surviving kits. Our sisters were not so lucky." He now looked at Breezepelt. "Mama told me and Blacktail that our father was killed though."

Now looking at Breezepelt he spoke. "I would look my father if i didn't have these grey streaks."

In his mind, he removed the gray streaks off the black tom, and then it triggered memories.

_Soon enough Breezepelt found himself seeing things, it was night, but there were also stars in the dark sky! And the glowing moon! Then a purr of happiness could be heard._

"_These stars look so wonderful." A voice so soothing said._

_Then a familiar scent wafered in the air as he remembered. The moor._

"_They are." He remembered telling the voice._

"_Ive been thinking." The voice said. He could safely identify it was a feminine voice._

"_What have you been thinking about?" He remembered asking._

"_Well…" She began. "I have been thinning about…" She seemed a bit hesitant._

"_About what?" He asked, with a light smile on his face._

"_About us." The she cat said lovingly. "What will lie in our future."_

_This conversation was only talked with one cat. Heathertail… his mate._

"_And I, I have recently thinking of kits in our near future."_

_He felt a smile on his face. "And?"_

"_And I was hoping we could have some in our future."_

_He gave Heathertail a loving lick on her head. "If we do have kits, Ill be around for the kits." He said with a smile on his face, and nuzzled her head._

_Then a sharp pain could be felt from his throat being torn out. The wound that killed him._

_Then a familiar voice could be heard yowling, but to him of course, it sounded no louder than a whisper. "You were going to be a father…"_

He now opened his eyes, and looked at Clawpelt.

He felt a bit shocked at this point. He had been focusing his entire time in the Dark forest, plotting for some way to get revenge for what Jayfeather and Briarlight had done, that he never noticed sooner…

"Who was your mother?" Breezepelt asked Clawpelt. "I probably know who her mate was."

"My mother is… was Heathertail." He said, to Breezepelt. "Do you know who her mate was?"

Breezepelt soon felt a weight drop in his body with the realization that hit him so hard that it made him lose his breath.

"What's the matter?" Clawpelt asked, questioningly. "It looks like you've been killed again."

"Its not that…" Breezepelt said with astonishment. "I forgot I was going to be a father when i came here." He now looked at Clawpelt. "And my mate… her name was Heathertail."

Clawpelt put the missing pieces together, and he winced back, his legs becoming shaky with the realization.

"I didn't realize it either Clawpelt." He began. "But your my son… and Im your father."

Clawpelt wore a similar expression to his own a moment ago. Clawpelt looked sick to the stomach, as this discovery had shocked the young Dark Forest warrior completely.

After recovering after the initial shock of this discovery, he sat down. "Our futures are now here forever?" Clawpelt asked Breezepelt.

There was a long pause. "No."

"Then what is there to do?" Clawpelt asked with a sinister eagerness.

He looked at his yellow- eyed son. Regaining his normally sinisterness, he got up from sitting down. "We are like Starclan." He began. "We can't change our futures, but we can influence the future of others."

"And then what?" His claws unsheathed.

Breezepelt had to think for a moment. My son and I want vengeance, so that's what we will get.

"So… So we get more cats!" Breezepelt said confidently.

Clawpelt seemed to agree for a moment, his face soon turning into a face of disagreement.

"But if i died, along with Volestep and Salmonstream, our deaths would've strikes fear into potential recruits."

"And that is a problem because?" Breezepelt asked Clawpelt. "We simply wait then." Breezepelt said, beckoning his tail so his son could follow him.

"What shall we do then? "He asked. "We aren't just going to wait for moons and moons now are we?"

Still waiting, he spoke. "Train then." He continued to think. "If you do want your revenge, we will train to beat that monster inside of Icefang.'

Clawpelt nodded, and smiled. Soon ran up to his father's side.

_He will need the training if he wants to beat Icefang._ Breezepelt knew._ Not just training…_

* * *

_**Well well well! It seems like we get a perspective of the Dark Forest for now! I hope you liked this chapter and I see that people still love this story!**_

_**Question time! Which Character should get a chapter within the near future and not like the some of the main characters, one that makes some appreance? I want to see your opinion!**_

_**Well nice to see that you read my story! Please drop a review if you want, and if you love my story, favorite and follow. Most importantly, please enjoy reading other peoples fanfictions.**_

_**Talon**_


	18. XVIII: Each Day Grows Brighter

_**Each day grows brighter**_

_**Well this time this chapter came out way quicker than before! Let me answer some reviews!**_

_**Raven that Flies at night: I do agree that it was less uncomfortable (Depending on who you were talking about).**_

_**Crazychessgurl: Maybe… just maybe… **_

_**Autumnstripe: I had a sibling one planned already and it should be coming out in the near future.**_

_**Lightstar and Darkstar: Maybe actually… I'm not sure how but just maybe.**_

_**Ginger Pup: I don't know about Dunecloud and the DF. Dunecloud seems a bit bound the warrior code to be apart of the DF. But a chapter about him wouldn't hurt.**_

_**If that is all lets get into this chapter!**_

* * *

Pinepaw followed Bramblestar to his den. He seemed to walk in such a manor that carried a sign that the conversation they would have privately would be an important one.

She halted in front of the den entrance. She looked at her shadow and saw the nick that goes through her ear. The nick that Clawpelt gave her. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the den. Bramblestar had sat himself in the center of the den. "Sit down." He pointed to a spot directly infant of him.

She went over to the spot, and sat down slowly, keeping her back straight, His amber eyes observed her, as if they were scanning for something.

"I will ask you a few questions." He began. "And I hope you answer them honestly."

She nodded, waiting for her leader to ask for the questions.

She saw her leader inhale deeply, and then exhale. He proceeded to have his eyes meet hers. "Does Icefang ever seem to… zone out, as if he was thinking?"

Now that he had asked that, they're where some particular times where it did look like he was making a decision or if he was thinking really hard, most evidently, a moon ago when he had saved her from those rouges.

"He does…. not often." She replied hesitantly.

Bramblestar seemed to absorb that knowledge, or what it seemed. "What about his personality? Has he ever reacted differently per usual?"

Pinepaw remembered when Icefang was completely against the idea of romance in his life, mainly in the earlier days of their apprenticeship. Then he was more… open with his feelings, as in he was able to show them more than what he had previously shown. He seemed to be able to control himself more often too, rather than when he was younger. But she had to also remember the fact that he had killed four living cats. Icefang didn't seem against not killing, but he also had the willpower to resist for the most part.

"Yes…." She replied slowly. "There was a time. Where he seemed to act differently."

Bramblestar seemed interested instantly. "Do tell." He simply said.

"Well…" She cleared her throat, looking for the words to explain. "When i ran out of camp that day, when I had found out Icefang was seeing that Windclan cat…" She found the story hard to tell herself.

"Right." He nodded. "Then Icefang, Acornfur and Dunecloud chased after you soon after you left."

She nodded. "Well After a while, Dewstream tried protect me from the rouges." She looked away, still remembering the way she was told to run.

"He instructed you to run an Icefang saved you fending off a rouge."

She nodded. Pinepaw remembered how she omitted the murder part from her version of the story. "But there was a part of the story i didn't tell you Bramblestar." She said, and his amber eyes locked onto her. "Icefang killed one of the rouges in order to save me." She now looked into the eyes of her leader now.

"Did he hesitate?" He asked her. She responded by nodding.

"I don't think he was controlled by whatever monster controls him."

Bramblestar nodded for a moment, and his eyes widened for a moment, freezing mid nod. He looked back down at her, his eyes narrowed. "How do you know of said monster?"

_Fox-dung._ She though to herself, shifting her eyes around, looking for and excuse of some sort, yet none came to mind. _Maybe it would be easier to come clean…_ she sighed. Now looking at Bramblestar, who was waiting for an answer, and spoke.

"Well a few moons ago, when i was hunting with Dewstream." She began. "I saw a mouse, and decided to stalk it, walking into lavender. Right as I was about to pounce, i heard you and Jayfeather speaking about Icefang."

Bramblestar stiffened. "That conversation was only strict business for me and Jayfeather only." He said, sounding mildly angry for a moment. He took a deep breath. "What else did you hear?"

Unsure whether she should continue, she decided it was for the better if she did so.

"Well I also heard you were looking for four things, including Icefang."

"And do you know what we were looking for?" He asked subtly trying to pry more information from her.

She looked at the broadened shouldered leader.

"You where looking for the Ice, which you determined as Icefang." She began. "Then you said something about the friendship, the violent breezes, which I concluded as Breezepelt." She was hesitant to finish her sentence. "And then you were looking for the love, whatever that means."

He looked away for a second, now looking at some light peaking into the den, then looking back at the brown apprentice. He seemed to stay silent for a moment or two, as everything went to a silence that felt awkward to her. All of a sudden his back straightened, and his eyes seemed to light up with thought.

"Do… Do I uh… get to know what this is all about?" Pinepaw asked Bramblestar very hesitantly.

This seemed to snap out of his trail of thought. Seeming to contemplate whether or not to tell her why he continued questioning longer than what he though he originally anticipated.

Looking at the apprentice, he took a deep breath. "Since you know the most of it, I might as well tell you what's going on." He leaned in closer to her. "I am going to only say this once."

She nodded her head. _Is it that important?_

He looked at the entrance once more, to make sure no cat was going to listen or interrupt this, "A while ago, before you were born, we received a prophecy, and we didn't know if it was going to be about Icefang." He paused to take a breath. "An Ice colder than leaf bate can be thawed by the friendships forced in the sands and a love grown though the violent breezes." Soon enough, Bramblestar leaned back, now standing straight.

For a moment she was confused. "What does this mean?" She asked, perplexed at this.

"I only learned of it after the birth of Icefang." He now looked at the apprentice in the eyes. "I figured Icefang was the Ice from the start, but his path has changed so much, its difficult to tell who is who in this prophecy." He looked at her and smiled. "But I can trust you to make sure he stays on the right path now can i."

She smiled and nodded when Bramblestar stopped speaking.

"You are permitted to leave now." Bramblestar told the young brown she cat.

She dipped her head, and raised it, soon after leaving the den.

Bramblestar told me much more than i needed to know, and i think he knows it too. Pinepaw thought to herself. I think I know where I can learn more.

She looked over to the medicine cat den, seeing Jayfeather exiting it with a beech leave in his mouth, meaning he was leaving for herbs.

Swiftly she padded over to Jayfeather. "Do you need any help?" She asked the blind medicine cat.

"I'm fine," He said, continuing to walk.

If she wanted answers she would have to be persistent. "I insist i help, i mean i haven't been out of camp for a while."

The gray medicine cat narrowed his pale blue eyes, as if he knew her intentions, of course, medicine cats always had that all-knowing look. "If I can't stop you, might as well." He simply shrugged, beginning to walk out of camp.

She hurried beside him. "So what herbs need to be collected today?" She asked sounding interested.

"We need some chervil berries, the current stock rotted." He began. "More goldenrod as I applied the last of it onto Icefang's deepest wound, some marigold and more cobwebs." He said, moving his eyes around.

"Ok…" She trailed off for a second. "What does marigold look like?" She asked Jayfeather.

"How should I know?" Jayfeather replied sternly.

Pinepaw was confused for a second, then remembering he was blind. "Oh." She said out loud.

"I can tell you it smells sweet grin far away but sour if you get too close to it." He simply said.

"Oh ok." She said, still thinking. When will I ask him about the prophecy? She knew it was not far enough to make this conversation private. _Ill wait when we get closer to the sky oak, there are a lot of cobwebs there._

They continued to walk for a bit, and soon enough they reached the Sky oak, which was towering high, blocking out the sunlight.

Before she could open her mouth, Jayfeather cut her off.

"So why did you want to come out here?" He said calmly. "The real reason."

Pinepaw was confused. Was it that obvious? "What do you mean Jayfeather?"

"Cats just don't come on a stroll with their medicine cat on short notice because they feel like helping." He now looked blindly into Pinepaw's general direction. "So might as well get it out."

She took a deep breath. "Ok Jayfeather." She began slowly. "I have a question." She was caught off guard by Jayfeather's clairvoyance, and the words she had in her, all the thoughts she had, suddenly went blank. "Uh…" She trailed off.

Jayfeather heard her struggling to find words. "Does it have anything to do with you and Icefang?" He suggested.

"It does." She nodded while looking at the medicine cat.

He gave a small grin. "Well what about you two?"

"Well Bramblestar spoke to me, and wanted to know how Icefang and I were doing." She said, still lost in trying to make responses. "They seemed kind of personal and—" Jayfeather then cut her off.

"Are you trying to tell me what I think your trying to tell me?" His voice held a hint of bewilderment.

"What do you mean?" She asked Jayfeather, more confused when she was earlier.

"Oh Pinepaw, don't worry, its all a part of life, and its bound to happen in every she cats life." There was a very short pause. "I just expected it to happen later."

Pinepaw remained silent, and flicked her ear with the nick in it.

"I remember when your mother went on a walk to talk with me and Briarlight about it too." He seemed to chuckle at the memory of it.

"Every cat can see that you are… well more than fond of Icefang's company." His grin just grew bigger. "And I'm not surprised if in your near future i see kits."

The conversation took the sharpest turn in her life. "What!" She basically screamed. "That's not what I meant Jayfeather!" She yelled at him, her pelt was on fire with embarrassment, and her face felt like it was burning up now.

Jayfeather looked very confused now. "You're not talking about kits?"

"No no no no NO!" She repeated herself, still feeling quite embarrassed.

Jayfeather blinked slowly. "Then what did you mean? What about you and Icefang?" He said, taking a seat, back straight, and ears perked.

"What I meant was that Bramblestar called me in to his den, he told me about the Ice prophecy because i heard the original conversation you had with him a couple of moons." She sat down, looking at her paws shuffling them.

Jayfeather stayed silent for a moment. "So you went poking your nose huh." He didn't seem surprised. "I was a lot like that when i was an apprentice, you know, walking into cats dreams and all."

"I did stick my nose where it didn't... belong." She chuckled nervously.

Jayfeather sighed, shaking his head. "So what do you want to know?" He said cooperatively, as she knew enough that telling her more would not put her in any risk.

"If I'm Involved." She asked. "Bramblestar asked me a lot of questions that were more about Icefang, but they seemed to be indirectly about me." She said.

Jayfeather remained silent for a second. Then he opened his mouth to speak. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?" She asked, sounding somewhat annoyed. "If I'm involved in this, this could very well affect my life."

"I cannot tell you because the prophecy is more directed with Icefang." He simply said. "Everything is set in stone, but things change as his path changes, so if you so happen to be involved, you will find out.

_That didn't answer my question…_ she thought.

"But for now, don't worry about it too much." He now got up and began to walk. "Only time will tell."

_Time will tell… but how long will it take to tell?_

* * *

_**Well Pinepaw has explained and there will be more to come for the time, and I will probably make more chapters about different characters rather than focusing 4 chapters on Icefang and then one on a random character : 3 I worked on this chapter for about a couple of days, and I hope you loved it. **_

_**Please take a moment out of your time if you want to review the chapter, give some feedback on what you liked, and what you didn't like, things that need improvement, and things that I should do more often!**_

_**Talon**_


	19. XIX: A Fiery Passion

_**A Fiery passion**_

_**Great to see all these positive reviews for Chapter 18 :3 Now to respond to them**_

_**Crazychessgurl: Great to see you had a laugh :3**_

_**Kiwi: Great to see you again :3 Its really hard to follow a story as a guest :P Still I may do one about Spottedwind… depends on how I feel.**_

_**Long live books: Thanks :3**_

_**Owenstar: Trust me, im not done with scourge and a spoiler if you want, I plan on involving him a lot more soon.**_

_**Hotaru: I thought a bit of comedy would be nice.**_

_**Ccee633: Ill give you descriptions of the cats ive made/added to the story that are actually important, it will be in my profile description.**_

_**Ashcat: This chapter should answer your questions :3**_

_**Soloman7: Thanks for the support (So Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde could be compared to Billy and Dr. Horrible?) I thought about a cat exorcism, but ill think about it again :3**_

* * *

The ginger tom sighed as he walked with the patrol. It seemed like all the cats he knew well had some form of romance going on in their lives. Dunecloud had Acornfur, Flameclaw definitely had Shadepaw, and Smokepetal was spending more and more time with her former mentor, Snowcloud. Thistle paw was mooning over Creampaw, who paid no mind to him at all, and Ashpaw was surely mooning over Thistlepaw, and last but not least, his brother Icefang with Pinepaw.

He remembered how Icefang became a warrior. At first, he was a bit jealous about it, and all that, but then again, he did remember how Icefang did save his own life.

He looked up and saw his mentor, Whitening whom was walking in front of him. To the left of her was Snowcloud, who was talking to her, something about the upcoming gathering, and about how they were wondering how their clan friends are doing. Looking to the right, he saw Rosepetal, with her apprentice, Brackenpaw, whom chatting about something as their mouths were moving presumably. Hollystream and her apprentice Creampaw were also talking, but Firepaw didn't care enough to listen in on it.

Then he heard paw steps coming closer to him. Turning his head slowly, he saw the solid white pelt of Thistlepaw.

"Hey Firepaw." Thistle paw greeted the green-eyed tom. "How have you been doing?"

Firepaw had the hugest urge not to respond to the younger apprentice, but who else was there to talk to at the moment?

"I'm doing fine." He told him, turning his head forward, soon seeing Thunderclan-Windclan border.

"Thistlepaw, Firepaw!" Whitening called out to them. "Begin marking the borders over there." She pointed her tail in one direction. "Snowcloud will keep watch while me, Hollystream and Creampaw will start over there and meet up in the middle."

Firepaw nodded as he walked over to the first tree near the stream that separated the two territories, and started to rub his pelt against it, making sure to cover up the old scent that once covered it.

"So." Firepaw began, rubbing his head against the bark of the tree, and then moving closer to the middle of the area where Whitewing had instructed them to mark to. "How's trying to get with Creampaw been going?" He casually asked Thistlepaw.

"I'm sure she'll come around." Thistlepaw said, carefully rubbing his pelt next to the bush right in front of the stream.

Firepaw looked closely at the white tom, and then at the stream. His stance had complete confidence, as if he had everything planned and planned over to his odds. He wished he had that readiness or done something like this earlier when he was confident with love. Of course, he couldn't forget how he instead decided to hide it behind a wall of hate in fear of losing his shot, but in the end, his efforts were in vain as she choose some other cat…

"Come on Firepaw." A nudge had broken his trail of thought. He looked back into the water he was apparently looking at himself at, and then looked at Thistlepaw. He moved his head and saw that the patrol was re-gathering.

"Ok, that is one border done." Whitewing said, looking up at the sky. The sun had only slightly gone up by the time they were gone. "That leaves two more."

Firepaw took a deep breath and began to think again. _Why was love difficult to find?_ Still walking, his thoughts ran free. _Why couldn't I win her heart? It's been a moon since i lost the battle officially, yet…. i still don't feel whole_.

He then felt something grip his scruff. "You better watch where you're walking." The voice belonged to Whitewing. "Wouldn't want you to fall on my watch now would i?"

Firepaw looked forward and saw a huge opening in the ground, and saw a shallow looking stream at the bottom of it.

He walked back a bit. "Thanks Whitening." He thanked his mentor on the outside, but on the inside, he thought something different. He didn't know what it was though.

Shaking of this feeling, he continued to walk, remembering. He begun to slow down, as he realized this feeling was gnawing at his stomach, making him feel queasy and horrible.

"What is wrong with me?" He silently asked himself while walking. Trying to think for something else, or everything for that matter to get his mind off this feeling, he would always end up thinking of love.

Gritting his teeth, he continued to walk with the patrol, keeping this pain within him a secret to the patrol.

Soon enough, they reached the Shadowclan border, with the sun being quite high now, with a Shadowclan patrol already there. He only recognized some of the pelts that he had seen before at the gatherings, but only fewer had he ever known their names. There was the brown pelt of Owlclaw, which looked oddly familiar… then there was Duskpaw's dark golden fur. She was a young apprentice when he had first met her, but she looked older now, maybe 3 moons younger than he was. Then there was a soot colored pelt of Emberpaw, with her light gray underbelly and light gray paws. She had one huge noticeable white spot on her head. He met her at his first gathering, so he had to be close to becoming a warrior. Then he saw Tawnypelt. Bramblestar would occasionally talk to her before a gathering began, because they were kin and all. He always spoke of her with great respect. The other cats were somewhat unknown to him, but he swore he had seen some of those pelts before.

"Nice day we are having." Whitening greeted the Shadowclan deputy whom was leading the patrol.

"Indeed it is." Owl claw replied to their greeting. "I wish we could've said that that a couple of sunrises ago."

"What happened? Whitewing had a sudden interest.

"It is none of your concern." Owlclaw sounded defensive now. "It is solely the business of Shadowclan and Shadowclan alone."

Whitewing nodded. "Sorry if i seemed intrusive." She said calmly. "We will be off after the borders have been renewed."

Owl claw seemed to nod as his patrol was finishing up their scent markers. In the time, he continued to think and think some more.

Why was Owlclaw so defensive? His focus was now on something else for a change. It had to be smoothing big if the deputy of Shadowclan was a bit hostile to talk about it. He thought about it for a second, then he remembered how the deputies pelt was vaguely reminded him of a certain someone…

Never the less he sighed. "Must be coincidence." He shrugged, still looking at the brown pelt get farther and farther away.

"Come on Firepaw." A feminine voice now called out for him. He turned around and saw Creampaw beckoning for his attention. "Your not going to stand there all day long now are you?"

He couldn't help but to pick up her joking tone and chuckle himself. _I wonder how she can stay quite happy all the time._

He quickly walked towards the cream-colored apprentice.

Before reaching her, Thistlepaw quickly walked beside her, prompting him to walk back a little, allowing Thistlepaw to talk.

Cream paw seemed completely uninterested, as she looked away, and sighed. Her dark blue eyes seemed to show border. Thistle paw stopped talking and nudged Creampaw, trying his hardest to get her attention. She seemed to slow down, and Thistlepaw continued to walk forward. He sighed and continued.

This intrigued him of course. Thistle paws confidence should've given him the boost to get her attention, yet it didn't as he had planned it. He continued to walk looking up at the trees, which provided shade from the quarter high heat.

Continuing to follow his mentor towards camp, he couldn't help but notice that Blossomfall was leading her apprentice, Pinepaw who was assigned to her after the death of Dewstream were walking into camp after some training he had to assume.

Seeing her made him sad. She was his shot at love, and he threw it away.

_Stop thinking about her! _He yowled at himself on the inside. _She's happier with Icefang and nothing is bound to change that!_

He went into camp, and saw Pinepaw, helping Icefang who was stiffly walking out of the medicine cat den. His pelt still covered with cobwebs from the injuries he received days before. She looked happy as Icefang limped towards the fresh kill pile.

He looked away as his heart ached. _Maybe a quick rest would help_. He immediately went into the apprentice den. Picking the nest closest to the entrance, he laid into it. He tossed and turned for a moment, trying to get comfortable.

Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes. _Stupid jealously. _Firepaw now thought to himself. _I should feel happy for my brother. I mean he nearly died for Starclans sake! Some love for him would make him feel great._ Then he remembered the sound of the cracking branch. _He could've let me fall and let me…. die, but he chose to save me, at the risk of his own._

Sighing, he found himself drifting to sleep, bur before he knew it, he felt his limbs go numb and a word echoed in his mind. _Acceptance._

He soon woke up in a starry plain.

_Where… where am i?_

_Soon enough, stars came down from the sky to form a cat figure, which then created a gray figure with darker specks, and dark blues eyes._

"_Hello Firepaw." The cat spoke. "I have called you here to talk to you."_

_Firepaw was confused but nodded. He didn't know this cat, yet, this cat seemed to talk to him as if he knew him his entire life. "What do you want to tell me?"_

"_I am here to give you advice." He said. "I see you are wandering a similar path to mine."_

_Even more confused he asked. "How is it similar? He had to ask though. Was it a path of good or bad?_

"_I had loved, and I too was blinded by jealousy and love." He sighed. "My take to my rejection was way different, but in the end, if you don't change it will be the same for you if you don't accept that love can be broken and fixed in other places."_

_Was this cat giving him advice on love? On rejection? Firepaw felt angry now. "I have accepted it!"_

"_You tell yourself that, but have you really accepted it emotionally?"_

_Emotionally? His anger faded quickly, and his hostile stance disappeared._

"_Until you do so, you will never change." He now looked at the fiery apprentice. "And beside, love could be close by, so keep your heart open." The starry cat smiled, and soon enough began to fade away._

"_What is your name?" That question had not even crossed his mind._

"_My name is Ashfur." His voice grew more distant. "Remember, acceptance is the key of love."_

He woke up, and saw that all the apprentices but Pinepaw who always would sleep with Icefang for the time in the medicine cat den.

Slowly he got up and quietly making sure that he did not wake up the other apprentices. He needed somewhere to think freely, and away from the clan for once. Now slowly headed out of the den, he slowly crept to the dirt place.

"What are you doing up late Firepaw." A weary voice broke his trail of thought. He turned to around to see that it was Sorrelfur.

"I uh was heading to the dirt place." He slowly began, but sped up at the end.

She nodded and yawned. "Don't be to long."

He nodded and quickly rushed into the Dirtpalce. He looked up, and saw the blackened thistle, and carefully moved it out of the way. Where to go? He asked himself. There was only one place that came to mind. He let his paws guide him to where he wanted to go, and he soon found himself at the edge he nearly fell earlier that day.

He sat at the edge looking down, thinking about what that that cat Ashfur had told him.

"I need to accept it emotionally? But how?" He asked himself.

He remembered how he always made himself look happy whenever he was around everyone was, when in reality he wasn't. He remembered when he saw Pinepaw, his heart would ache. Letting it go wouldn't be easy for him though.

His eyes got watery just remembering his woes. He now looked over the edge to see the semi shallow stream. _I wonder how death feels like._

"I see you couldn't sleep either." A voice from behind said.

He quickly wiped his eyes with his tail and hid his sadness as he turned to see the familiar white creamy pelt.

"Oh hi Creampaw." He said, completely covering his sadness. "What are you doing out here?"

She gave a light chuckle, slowly walking towards him. "I should ask you the same thing." She now sat next to him. "Sorrelfur fell asleep on her watch… so i simply came out."

"And how did you find me?" Firepaw had to ask.

She looked him if he was dumb. "Your scent is the only fresh one at this time of day." She smirked at him. "So what have you been doing out here?"

"I came here to think." He said, much calmer than before. "And you came here because?"

She shrugged. "I don't know honestly." She yawned, looking at the moon that would be full within a week's time. "I guess i would see what you where up to."

He looked at her now. "Well now you know." He said, with a little smile on his face.

There was silence for a brief moment.

"How was your day Firepaw?" Creampaw asked.

_Might as well answer it_. He told himself. "My day was fine_." Other than the constant reminders of my failed love life._ He mentally added. "How bout yours?"

"Fine." She said. "Thistle paw does get annoying." She seemed to sigh after that. "Have you ever felt… down… like really down?"

This part of the conversation caught his attention.

"I have." He simply said. "Why?"

She sighed. "I don't want to talk about it." She seemed somewhat saddened now.

He then remembered what Ashfur had told him about acceptance. "If you don't want to talk about it's completely fine, but just remember it you don't let it out, then you'll never know how much it ever meant." He said. "If you can't talk it out, it will just bubble inside you until you can't take it anymore."

Creampaw looked at him. "Are you sure?" Firepaw was hesitant for a second, but then he nodded. "Ok then." She took a deep breath. "Here it goes. When I was younger I was mooning over… some cat, but then I had a little crush over Icefang, as he always seemed to be positive after all that he has been put through." She said looking at the moon. "Sometimes I looked at them and i wish i could be in Pinepaw's place." She sighed now. "I know its a stupid dream and all, but i feel like it should be me and him."

Firepaw looked at her with complete understanding. Funny. He thought to himself. The cat rejected by Pinepaw talking to the cat rejected by Icefang.

"Don't worry." He began. "Acceptance is the first step Creampaw." He told her what Ashfur had told him.

"But… But i don't know if i can accept." She now looked down at the shallow stream. "How do i learn to accept?"

He sighed. "Every cat version of… acceptance is … different." Firepaw was having difficulty explaining this concept, as he himself had not even fully accepted at this point.

"But what?" Cream paw asked questionably. "Is there something easier?"

He shook his head. "But we can walk the path of acceptance."

She looked at him. "We?"

He nodded, returning his gaze. "I need to accept something too." A smile extended on his face. "So yes. Together."

For a moment, their gazes were interlocked together, as he felt his heart beat faster just looking into her sky blue eyes.. He felt his pelt grow warm in a good way.

Then they broke their gazes.

"It..uh… is really..um.. good to have someone to talk too." Creampaw said, clearly embarrassed of that little moment.

"Uh… Yea… it is." Firepaw looked away, with the same embarrassment that she had. His pelt burning with so many thoughts. "Uh… lets get back to camp."

She nodded, now avoiding his eyes, but he knew, she held a smile on her face.

_We can walk the path of acceptance… together._

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_**Well there you have it! Another chapter done and what not :3 I thought about Firepaw, and believe it or not, it may have mixed elements from my personality and my brother :3**_

_**Question: Honestly how do you feel of the romances? Any romance suggestions between the current pool of character? Want to talk about your favorite romances? Go ahead!**_

_**If you liked this chapter, review, and if you love the story, follow and favorite if ya feel like it. I will be out!**_

_**Talon**_


	20. XX: A Cold Night

_**A Cold Night**_

_**Sorry for the long wait time, but let me reply to reviews, then youll get to read the story :3**_

_**Raven that flies at night: Indeed. And thanks for the compliment :3**_

_**Long live books: Thanks for loving the story :3 If you like it I like it :3**_

_**Crazychessgurl: I enjoyed their romance too :3**_

_**Solomon7: Ill touch back on them later :**_

_**Ashcat: I will hopefully get to other's romances, and Firepaw's personality as stated before (I think) is a mix between me and my brothers personalities. **_

_**Now if that is all time for another chapter of AHSC!**_

* * *

Bramblestar sighed. Today was the night of the gathering. He knew he was going to say at the gathering, but how would Icefang be treated after it was explained? How would the other leaders react to Icefang murdering one of their classmates?

Bramblestar peaked out of the den, and saw the sun slowly falling, and the full moon slowly rising.

"Its time to choose who is going Bramblestar." His deputy and mate, Squirrelflight reminded him.

"Ok." He said, looking around the camp from the high rock. He saw cats that would want to go to the gathering. He knew that Squirrelflight and Jayfeather would have to go, as deputies and traditionally one medicine cat went to each gathering_. Icefang had to go to, as he would need to explain his side of the story in the Dark Forest matter. _He looked at the crowd of warriors. He could see the one eyed warrior Talonclaw talking to his sister, Waverunner. _I could take Talonclaw…_ He thought to himself. Then he saw Flameclaw and Smokepetal talking to Lilyheart. _Ill take them too_. He told himself.

Now time to select apprentices. He scanned the area and saw the group of apprentices_. I could take Creampaw, but then that would require taking Firepaw… those two have been inseparable as of these few days._ He decided it was for the best not to separate the two and looked at the pure white tom talking to Ashpaw, constantly looking over his shoulder at Firepaw and Creampaw. _Thistlepaw should come; he hasn't been to a gathering in two moons. _From the corner of his eye, he could see Brackenpaw talking to the elders. _Whenever it came to elder duties, Brackenpaw was the one to volunteer. Brackenpaw has been good the past moon, he's earned his right to go._

Now satisfied with whom would be representing Thunderclan at this gathering, he looked forward, and looked down at the crowd of cats, milling around the clearing.

"I have chosen who will go to the gathering." Halfway through his sentence, the crowd silenced themselves. "Warriors who will be going will be; Talonclaw, Smokepetal, Flameclaw and Lilyheart." He paused for a second. The apprentices who will be going will be; Thistlepaw, Brackenpaw and Ashpaw."

He looked over to see Icefang whom was lying in the clearing slowly getting up, stretching his legs. Pinepaw could be seen padding over to him. They seemed to have a quick conversation, but it ended with a nuzzle. He smiled as it reminded him of how he did that with Squirrelflight when he was younger.

Nut all that was beside the point currently. He started to walk down from the high rock to reach the Gathering group of cats, who where waiting by the entrance of camp.

Now looking at the group, he gave a silent approval to start heading out. Mentally counting the cats walking out, he soon found out that all were accounted for. Looking up at the sky, he could barely see the moon slowly getting higher and higher. Now pulling to the front of the group, he began to freely think. _How would the leaders mention what happened in their reports?_ Still walking he turned his head to look at Icefang, whose limp was barely noticeable. _At least Icefang will be able to explain himself_. He looked forward, and the path through the forest was dimply light by the moonlight peaking through the foliage now.

A light breeze caused the leaves to rustle as they began to walk the Thunderclan-Windclan border. The cool air felt great, especially after the warm day. Looking to the right he saw the Island and the lake reflecting the moonlight and stars.

Mindless chatter behind him, Bramblestar continued to ponder. But this pondering would go on no longer as he realized that they were closing in on the log bridge of the Island.

Putting his front paw on the long, he could scent the moor, the marsh, and what seemed to be the most recent, the river. All the other clans are already here. He thought, hopping onto the log, beginning to cross onto the Island. From there he could see the other three leaders perched on the branches, chatting with each other.

"Well it looks like Thunderclan has finally arrived." Onestar called out to the upcoming Thunderclan cats. "I was afraid that we would have to start without you." His tone was serious.

"Yes I have." Bramblestar continued to walk through the scattering of cats as Thunderclan joined the huge group, mixing in with the rest. "Now the gathering can begin." He said calmly as he climbed up the tree to get into his spot.

"Who is willing to begin?" Rowanstar looked at the other leaders. "No? I will begin then."

All the cats silent now, Bramblestar turned his head to look at the leader of Shadowclan.

"Shadowclan has been doing well despite the recent loss of out warrior, Volestep." Some murmurs from the crowd of cats began. "He will be missed by our clan, but life will go on." Now looking at the crowd. "That is all."

Mistystar looked at the Shadowclan leader. "You have Riverclan's condolences." She began. "Riverclan is doing well, river is filled with fish and the cool water is keeping us nice and chilled from the green leaf heat." She now looked at the Shadowclan leader. "Riverclan has also had a loss of one of our own warriors." She now looked at Bramblestar and Onestar. "Salomstream was found dead in his nest."

Some more murmurs arose from the crowd, as these deaths seemed to surprise them.

"Now i will speak." Onestar began. "Windclan is dong fine, Hares still out of their nest and prey is plentiful." He simply stated. "But it is not a coincidence that one of Windclan's warrior was also found dead in his nest also?" Cats were now suspicious of this sudden coincidence, and were still talking among themselves. "Anything happen in Thunderclan that relates to this?"

Bramblestar nodded. "One of our warriors was found in a pool of his own blood." He began. "If it wasn't for an apprentice's initiative and Jayfeather's work, he would've never survived the night. Now he told and explained to us what happened and we are here to discuss it." He took a deep breath, and right before he started to speak, Onestar cut him off.

"Why don't you let Icefang explain?" Onestar said, looking at the black tom with the scarred pelt.

_I never mentioned it was Icefang…_ Bramblestar couldn't help but to ponder.

"Willowpaw found out and told me enough." Onestar stated boldly.

Bramblestar nodded. "Icefang." He paused. "Come up."

Icefang looked at his leader, and nodded, lightly limping towards the front. Some cats had the look of astonishment when they saw his pelt.

"You may begin speaking." Rowanstar now said, interested in this matter.

Icefang's eye landed on Bramblestar, and he himself, gave him a nod of approval, permitting him to speak.

Turning around, Icefang began to speak. "When I was younger, i trained with the Dark Forest." Gasps from the crowd came along, some had murmurs of disappointment. "But after a while, i stopped training with them, but some of your classmates also trained with them." A lot of gazes that were once on his pelt went to scanning the clearing.

"And you got those wounds from them?" Misty star asked calmly. Icefang nodded his head.

"But how did you survive, while the others parishes?" Rowanstar asked Icefang, who had a nervous look now.

"Im getting there." He sounded nervous now. "They brought me into the Dark Forest, and your warriors surrounded me, along with the mentors and asked me to… to…" He did not want to continue the sentence. "Bottom line they wanted me to prove my loyalty."

"And?" Onestar asked, wanting to know the story to its fullest.

"I didn't prove my loyalty to them." Bramblestar knew Icefang purposely skipped the one part about him refusing to kill Pinepaw. "So your clan mates and warriors of the Dark Forest attacked me."

Most cats were silent for a moment.

"Why were you still the only one to survive?" Rowanstar asked again. "Surely the others would've survived…" It didn't take long to put two and two. Rowanstar's facial expression changed. "By Starclan you didn't!"

Icefang, first looked down at the ground, then nodded his head. "Yes… I did…. I had too…"

The other three leaders looked at each other nervously, and most of the clan cats that were close to Icefang somewhat nudged away from him, as if he was no longer the same cat from before.

"I… see…" Rowanstar sounded mildly disturbed.

"They were trying to kill me!" He told them. "I had no other choice but to fight!"

"And 'they' consisted of?" Mistystar asked.

Bramblestar saw Icefang, realizing Icefang had told more than he wanted too. "It wasn't just the three i killed… I had to kill the mentors too…"

Bramblestar could just feel the judgment being put onto the young warrior.

"So you killed the Dark Forest?" A young voice yowled, possibly an apprentice.

Icefang's pale blue eyes looked into the crowd. "I… uh… i guess i did." Icefang didn't seemed to completely agree with that statement.

Surely that will get the others a bit more relaxed. This guess however was completely wrong. The leaders tensed up, Onestar darted his eyes quickly towards Icefang and back to Mistystar.

"Though you have done the lake a great deed." Mistystar began cautiously. "Every deed has its repercussions." Now the old leader's eyes landed onto of Icefang's scarred pelt. "The leaders will now decide on your punishment."

One by one, the leaders jumped off the branch and down towards the log behind the tree to discuss their decisions. Bramblestar was about to follow along with them, but then Mistystar gave him a signal with her tail. She slowly walked back to him. "If you were to be involved with this decision it could make it seem… unjust." She said slowly.

"But he is my warrior!" Bramblestar told her, only loud enough for them to hear.

She nodded her head, and then spoke. "But it was our warriors who were murdered." She began. "Though they were evil, justice should've been taken into the matter of the leaders of their respective clan, not your warrior."

Bramblestar looked mildly annoyed that he was not being involved with this decision. "I hope you understand." Mistystar said simply.

Bramblestar nodded his head. What could be the worst? He though to himself as he saw Mistystar head back to the other leaders whom had begun discussing without her.

As the leaders discussed, he perched his ears back, listening in on their discussion. From what he heard, the punishment would not be light.

"… If something like that happens in a border skirmish or a battled, how much blood could be spilled by that cat?" Rowanstar said sounding a bit worried.

"I agree with Rowanstar." Onestar said. "The dangers of this one cat outweigh the deeds that he has done for us." He sighed. "He killed experienced warriors whom were training for seasons more than he has been living for."

Mistystar voice was soft and barely audible, but he knew she was saying something that was against what they were saying due to the other leaders reactions.

"Easy for you to say!" Onestar sounded agitated. "You don't have to share a border with Thunderclan, so your clan mates are in no risk of dying by his claws!" Rowanstar nodded his head in agreement.

"There is only one solution i see if you do not like our first option." Onestar had said, suddenly more serious than he had been before.

"And what might that be?" Mistystar asked the Windclan leader.

"The only solution i see is…" He paused for a brief moment. "...Is an exile."

Bramblestar could sit idle no more. He jumped down the branch and rushed to the other leaders.

"You cannot exile one of my warriors!" He exclaimed in a hostile tone.

Rowanstar looked at the Thunderclan leader. "Oh we can." He began. "Your warrior killing our warriors grants us the power to do so. Mistystar explained it to you earlier."

"And I believe i can agree with this." Mistystar said. "It still is better than the previous option."

"Better?" He sounded confused. "And what would that be?"

"His death." Onestar said. "Its either exile or death."

With a growl, he looked at the leaders. "Exile it is then."

"Good, it is settled then." Rowanstar said, getting up from his once sitting position. "We must announce the decision all the other cats are waiting for."

Bramblestar had wanted to snarl, but it was for the better if he did not.

Most cats stopped talking as the leaders once began to get up onto their branch, were they will be perched when they talk.

"We have come to a decision." Mistystar's old voice rang across the clearing. Now looking at Rowanstar, he proceeded to talk.

"Icefang's punishment for the murder of Volestep, Salmonstream and Clawpelt will be…" Rowanstar hesitated for a second. "It will be an exile."

The clearing was silent for a moment, as if they were absorbing this knowledge. Soon enough outraged burst came along.

"He's a hero!" One cat yowled out!

"But he killed the Dark Forest!" Another cat yowled out.

"Silence!" Onestar yowled, silencing most of the outraged cats.

Bramblestar now looked at Icefang, whom had the face of acceptance, as if he knew this was going to end that way. "Icefang." He began. "Do you chose to accept and acknowledge your punishment put upon you?" He paused for a moment. "Beware that if you chose to deny this punishment you may be even more severely punished."

Icefang now looked at his leader. "I choose… to accept and acknowledge the punishment put unto me."

Bramblestar nodded. "Then by Sunfall of the next day, you will no longer be a warrior of Thunderclan."

He could see more emotions in Icefang's eyes. Worry. Sorrow. _I wish i didn't have to do this… _Bramblestar told himself.

Icefang could only give a crestfallen nod.

"If that is all, the fathering is over!" Onestar called out, as Windclan gathered together.

"Thunderclan form here!" Bramblestar called out.

Soon enough he felt a breeze touch his pelt, and it felt colder than any leaf bare.

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_**It took me a while to write this chapter, but it is done and I will be starting on a side project relating to Elder, the one shot character from Unbroken whom makes his appearances here every now and then.**_

_**Question: Whose relationship should I go into depth? It from the last chapter, it gave a huge selection to choose from.**_

_**If that is all, please read on! BTW check out my bud Toxic PhlameZ or soon to be iToxic, hes an amazing writer with his choice being in angst writing :3 He was my inspiration to start writing to begin with.**_

_**Leave a review, or choose to follow or favorite!**_

_**Talon is out!**_


	21. XXI:Last Day

_**Last Day**_

_**Hello all! It's another chapter from me! Time to respond to your reviews.**_

_**Long live books: Thank you for all the continuous support!**_

_**Ivysky820: A reason for everything my fellow fanfictioner! BTW The other leaders are driven by fear.**_

_**Solomon7: I do realize that the truth is not always the best way, but Icefang himself was never a good liar unlike his counterpart inside of him.**_

_**Guest(Cliffy): Thank you for noticing the cliffy :3 I have been working on them.**_

_**Guest(UpdatePlz): Well if I update immediately, it would drastically reduce the quality of these works, and lower suspense in between chapters!**_

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Icefang sat there, thinking about his punishment and how this crashed down upon his life.

_What will i do now?_ He asked himself. _Was the truth really worth it? Was it worth the trouble i would get into… where would i go?_

He felt his left eye blur a bit, and he slouched a bit as it somewhat hurt. _I know where to go._ The voice he identified as Scourge spoke_. But for now, make preparations to go._

Icefang's vision began to clear as he saw Thunderclan beginning to mobilize back to camp. He followed the cats, trying to think on the bright side, regardless of the punishment.

Yet again, not to long after crossing the log bridge, his left eye blurred, this time, nearly becoming impossible to see through, as he saw a cat appear. His physique so similar to his, and the only difference was there was something laced around his neck. Maybe it was one of those things referred to as a "collar", as Purdy has referenced, with teeth and claws inside it, and unusually sharp claws. Icefang slowed down as the cat kept pace with him. "Are you Scourge?"

The cat with the bone-laced collar shook his head. His appearance did looked quite intimidating; it was no wonder why the older leaders seemed to have been afraid of the way he looked. "It will be a long journey where I will be leading you." He got to the point immediately. "It takes a lot of my energy to form like this, so listen closely."

Icefang diverted his attention to the tom.

"The journey will be long, but if you survive, you shall be well rewarded." Scourge said. "Expect to go hungry some nights, unless you are willing to dig around for it, expect to get wounded, expect the pain." His figure slowly became translucent as his Icy blue eyes looking into his as he spoke. "I do think you can handle that."

Icefang nodded slowly.

"Good." Icefang saw Scourge slowly retreat into his shadow. For a moment, the shadow had extended claws and the bones from the collar. As quickly as they appeared, it disappeared.

Looking forwards now, most of the cats were farther ahead. Rushing ahead to catch up to his clan mates.

"So how do you feel?" He turned to the left and saw Jayfeather.

He sighed. "I could be better." He told his father. "Its not everyday you get exiled."

Jayfeather sighed as well. "I'm sorry this had to happen to you."

Icefang looked at Jayfeather. "Don't feel sorry for me, my actions got me there." He now looked away from his father. "But i worry about what I'm going to tell Pinepaw." He sighed.

"Tell her tomorrow." Jayfeather gave his advice. "Make it last while you're here."

He nodded. "I intend to."

Looking up, he could see the moon had slightly went down, noticing that they were closing in on the Thunderclan-Windclan Border. Carefully walking over the stream, trying not to get wet, the foliage from the trees began to block out the moonlight, only allowing a few beams of moonlight to pass through.

Icefang could see Thistlepaw talking to Brackenpaw, and Ashpaw listening contently, constantly looking back at him. _They are probably talking about me…_ he thought. _But what about?_

Now looking to the left, he could see the shimmering of the lake. It reminded him of those starry nights he spent with Spottedwind. They were great while they lasted, but now, he was with Pinepaw.

Then he remembered his punishment of exile, how he was going to be torn away from Pinepaw. He looked down and sighed again.

_Being exiled is not an end, but to a new beginning_. Scourge spoke once again, his shadow becoming different once again._ Just remember._

Icefang shook his head, soon seeing campgrounds were close, lightly limping; he rushed forward, making it into camp.

He saw Jayfeather walk into the medicine cat den, the apprentices went into their den, and he might as well follow the warriors to their dens since he was feeling well enough, and no longer needed supervision from Jayfeather or Briarlight.

Walking into the warrior's den, he chose a nest and laid in there, closing his eyes, he felt himself drift into his slumber.

_Soon enough, he felt his eyes open, though he never remembered waking up. He soon landed on a foggy area._

"_Where am I?" He asked himself._

_He soon felt himself walk with bigger claws, and the sound they made as he walked on the coarse rocky area. The constant clacking as he walked along the path, looking down, he could see the claw extensions touch the ground with every paw step._

_To his left he could see a cat. This cat had a grey pelt, not as shiny as his, but not as dull as an elders. He seemed well fed as his ribs were showing only ever so slightly. His left ear looked torn up, but looking closer, it was all smaller cuts that looked like they sliced through clean, and his eyes where a light shade of amber._

_Seeing cats upcoming to his right, they looked battle scarred, one was even missing an eye._

_Yet they forcibly dipped their heads in their presence, as if they did not want to._

_Icefang could not help but notice something in the youngest of the cats. His posture was extremely tense, as if he was… terrified._

_He soon felt himself slowly fade away as he could feel his dream coming to an end. _

Opening his eyes slowly, he could see all the warriors were out of their nests, and some chatter was coming from the clearing. Stretching his legs, then his back, he sat up straight, and began to groom his pelt out of habit. Flattening the patches of fur he could see, he proceeded to walk out the den.

He saw his brother talking to Creampaw, about Starclan knows what, but they looked content together, which made him feel great that his brother found happiness elsewhere. Now looking up at the sky, he could see the sun was almost at its highest.

He now saw Pinepaw. She seemed happy too, and that made him happy. But unfortunately he would have to make it a lot worse for the both of them.

"Hey Pinepaw." He said softly. "You want to go over towards the lake side?" Icefang asked her.

"Uh…" She looked back at her mentor, whom gave her the go ahead. "Sure!"

As she got up, he looked at Blossomfall and mouthed the words, Thank you. She nodded back as she went somewhere else . Gazes landed upon them as they stood near each other. Those who were not at the gathering probably heard about his punishment, leading to some of their expressions filled with some form of guilt, and others had an expression that showed their support for them.

Wanting to avoid all these gazes, he started to walk with Pinepaw, soon exiting camp and heading towards the lakeside.

The walk was a silent one, but Pinepaw didn't question why they did not talk. He was still thinking, still thinking about the future that could've been instead of what it is now.

Now approaching the lakeside, he sighed as his stomach begun to twist in so many ways that he didn't know it could.

"So why did you bring me here?" She asked him. "Is it about the gathering? The other apprentices didn't tell me a thing."

He sighed and nodded. "It's about the gathering, and it's very important." He looked away. "That's why i brought you out here…" He trailed off. "I need to say it here and now before i try to avoid it…" His voice cracking a bit, he tried not to show his grief, but it was hard not too. "I'm being exiled."

For a moment she looked at him with the same expression he had the night before. She put her head on his shoulder. "What about all those plans we made? What about our life we planned?" She asked.

He kept his breathing steady. "You can always make new plans." He sadly began. "And your future is up to you… I wish i didn't have to go but it has to happen."

"But what about us?" She repeated in a much shorter manner. "Won't you miss it all?"

He nodded. "I will miss everything I have here… you the most… but we must move on." He now looked up at the blue sky. "But at night when I'm not around, I will be around even if I'm not." He smiled turning his head towards her, his eyes becoming watery. "Because I will be in your heart."

She looked away for a second and then looked back, her eyes were watery as well. "And I will be in yours…" Icefang nodded his head as he brought his tail up to wipe her tears away.

She now met eyes with him again. "When will you leave?"

"I have to go before sun fall." He now looked away. "Promise me something." He began. "Promise me that you will become aw warrior and be happy." Now looking forward he got up. "Lets go."

She twined her tail with his. "Lets enjoy the silence."

He looked at her, and sat right back down, next to her, and she soon leaned her head onto his. This feeling was amazing, though it would probably be the last time he felt it from her.

Starclan knows how long they say there, just looking at the leaves peacefully fall into the ever so calm lake, causing ripples inside the water he watched.

He closed his eyes for a split second, and for a when he thought he was sure to fall asleep, he felt a jolt in his face causing him to fall back. Only then he realized that Pinepaw whom was giggling as he rolled back onto all four of his paws pushed him back.

"Oh ha ha!" He over exaggeratedly said. "Got me while my guard was down."

But as quickly he was down had a plan. He attempted to pounce onto Pinepaw, but to his misfortune, he missed, as she simply moved out of the way, landing him into the shallow part of the lakeside, causing him to make a huge splash.

Soaked in water, he now looked up at Pinepaw who was laughing so much, that she was making no noise anymore. She had her eyes were closed while rolling in the grass.

His small annoyance faded into a burst of laughter. He had another plan, and this one would work for sure. Slowly, he climbed out of the water, and his pelt was glossy due to the water. His eyes fixing on Pinepaw, he slowly crept to her, with a hunting crouch that he always used playfully.

Then and there, he caught a glimpse of her green eyes. He knew it was his time to pounce. Water dripping through the air as he jumped, he soon landed onto the brown apprentice.

"Hey!" She complained now. "You're getting me wet with the lake water!"

With a cheerful tone he spoke. "How do you think i feel?" The water continued to drip onto her pelt as she tried to squirm away, but the resistance soon stopped.

"You still look amazing with your pelt messed up." She complimented him, with her pine green eyes contently looking into his icy pale blue eyes.

For that moment, he knew that any other cat could never replace this connection that he shared with her, and she shared with him.

This connection of love, this connection of feelings, this connection of being each other's pieces felt so right.

But of course this is what pained him the most.

A bond that basically started before they were apprentices, a bond before that first skirmish with Clawpelt when they were apprentices, a bond before saving her from those rouges, a bond before saving her from the Dark Forest. Physically this bond was separable, but emotionally, they knew where their hearts belonged to each other, and no boundary could seem to stop this.

Slowly he lowered his head, and Pinepaw slowly raised her head, and then their noses touched each others.

"Ill be yours…" He whispered for her to hear.

She finished his sentence, whispering back. "And I will be yours…."

And as he slowly drew his head back, he knew, they would always be together.

* * *

_**Well there you have it, a nice sweet ending for now, but there will be more in store when the next update comes along. It is the beginning of Summer break for me so I will try to update more frequently but don't expect a big jump in updates though. **_

_**Well that's all from me, I hope you all have a great reading session, make sure to review if you feel like it, follow and favorite if you love the story and want to see a lot more. **_

_**Talon out!**_


	22. XXII:Departure

_**Departure**_

_**Responses to reviews first, then I will continue with the story you all so love!**_

_**Crazychessgurl: Well I like to see that your friend is also interested in my story :3 Hello to yourkingdomsavior**_

_**Longlivebooks: Thanks! That means a lot to me, as this story is leading up onto its 30**__**th**__** chapter!**_

_**Solomon7: If I answer this question to the fullest it would include spoiler, so just hang tight and let the story continue on! Pinepaw and Icefang are a nice pairing :3**_

_**Raven that flies at Night: Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter :3**_

_**Blackstar915: Guesses from guests are always nice, its always great to see how creative you get with them. I wont reveal anything but reading how people think of these are amazing :3**_

_**Ivysky820: Thanks :3 its great to see that you enjoyed the way I made the words flow with each other and all that stuff :3**_

_**Cinderlight: Icefang is not a bad cat, he has just done bad things. Killing the Dark forest isn't considered wholly evil, but murdering 3 cats who could've changed and had potential futures in their respective clans is.**_

_**HollerChristina: Heres the update you were waiting for :3**_

* * *

Icefang and Pinepaw sat next to each other in camp, watching the sky now, as most cats around them went about their business.

_It's almost time_. Icefang thought to himself. He would soon be walking a new path without family to guide me, a path without his friends beside him, a path without his love to comfort him.

_Except me._ He heard Scourge whisper to him. It was very faint, as if he was trying not to be detected.

"Will you ever try to come back?" Pinepaw asked Icefang.

He looked at her in the eyes. "I'm not sure, but i will at least try once all this commotion comes to an end." He leaned in closer to her. She snuggled closer to him too.

But of course, he could now hear paw steps coming his way. Turning his head, he saw his broad shouldered leader and his mother.

Briarlight gave a huge sigh, then looked at Icefang." Its time."

Icefang nodded as he nodded his head and looked at Pinepaw. "Be good while I'm gone." He could see her eyes get lightly watery, but she nodded at the end.

Turning to his mother now he looked at her when she began to speak. "If you want traveling herbs, you can have them if you would like." Briarlight said, and he could feel the sadness in her voice.

He was about to decline the herbs, but then he remembered what Scourge had told him the night before. The journey was bound to be long and exhausting, but a boost from the beginning wouldn't hurt. He nodded to his mother as she began to walk towards the medicine cat den.

He trailed behind her looking at everything in camp for what may be the last time. The nursery, how it would be soon filled with Amberflower's litter, yet he would never get to see them. The memories he forged in there, the first friendship with Dunecloud, and his first fights with his brother, who is also a friend of his now. The apprentice's den, how all the apprentices will continue their training, hunting and all the other stuff to provide for Thunderclan, but he would miss their warrior ceremony. Looking to the left now, he could see that the warriors den, which had some of the junior and senior warriors talking to each other, how he would no longer sleep or converse with them no more. Most of all, the elder's den, where he had spent countless times with them, learning and listening to their stories.

Looking forward, he saw the vines of the medicine cat den entrance. He calmly walked in and saw the herbs he would be eating lay out nicely, prepared as if they knew he would've taken them.

He slowly bit the burnet, which jolted a bitter taste into his mouth, nearly causing him to spit it right back out. Swallowing it, he looked at the next herb, which was chamomile, which wasn't as bitter as the burnet, but still caused him to scrunch his face in disgust. Last was the sorrel. He licked it up quickly, causing the sour taste to flow into his mouth.

With distain, he looked up, trying to get the taste of the herbs off his mind. He moved his tongue in his mouth, trying to get small pieces of the herbs loose from his teeth, when he heard paw steps from behind.

"I thought we would always be together in this clan, you know, grow up like most siblings do." What he identified as his brothers voice said. "But it kind of sucks that this had to happen."

"I guess so." Icefang turned around to see his brother. "But there is nothing you can do to stop this from happening." A smile now broke out on his face. "Just look over Creampaw you flaming fur ball."

Firepaw gave a chuckle. "Sure thing Icefang." Firepaw looked away now.

Now Shadepaw looked at him. "I wish we could've hung out more, but you were always so content staying away from us."

"Or was it the other way around?" He looked at his sister, remembering how they always shunned him. "Still just don't get into trouble while I'm gone." He turned his head towards Thrushpaw. "That includes you too."

He now looked at Briarlight, who now spoke. "Stay safe." She then took a deep breath. "I knew anything could happen to my kits, but i never expected it to happen to you… I remember you were the good one out of the litter too."

"Its ok mama." He said with no worry in his voice. "Like i told dad, it was my own actions that lead me to this." He took another breath to remain calm and collected. "But you raised me well, and your actions had nothing to do with my actions in the Dark Forest."

He now headed towards the entrance of the medicine cat den; looking back and seeing his family huddled together, trying to make the best of this situation. Now walking out of the den, he could see cats looking at him. He now saw Bramblestar at the high rock, who gave a simple nod.

Icefang knew Bramblestar didn't want to exile him, but what other choice did he have with the other leaders pressuring him to do so? Turning to the camp entrance, he started to walk out of camp for what might as well be the last time.

He looked up and through the leaves of the tree he could see the yellowish red sun lowering. He sighed, turning his course the lakeside, as long as he stayed three fox lengths within the lakeside he would be granted safe passage, hopefully.

It wasn't long before he reached the lakeside, soon hearing the voice known as scourge once again.

"Get out of clan territories." He saw his reflection's mouth move. "Then i will guide you where you need to go."

Icefang nodded as he began to walk towards the Thunderclan-Windclan Border.

Paying no mind to the scenery as he had seen this portion of the territory many times, but he could not ignore that there was a Windclan patrol waiting at the border.

"Why are you here?" Icefang asked one of the cats on the patrol.

"We are here to make sure that Bramblestar didn't go back on the exile and permit you to stay." The cat known as Harespring said.

Another cat walked up to him, and beside Harespring. "We will take you to the Riverclan border, and up towards the Thunderpath. After that you're on your own." He turned away for a moment and then spoke. "If you are found on our territories after that, you will be treated as a rouge and intruder."

Icefang nodded as he followed the Windclan escort, seeing the edges of the moor a bit more clearly. The moor didn't look as great as the forest, and the smell of heather was too strong for him. Then to the right he could see the gathering island, and remembered the events that occurred there. The gathering that stood out in his memories was of course his first gathering. The first gathering where he met everyone who made some form of difference in his life.

He remembered Spottedwind showed him to lighten up, and to be more open with his emotions, which did eventually lead him and Pinepaw together, and she did find her own mate. He remembered how Clawpelt was a jerk to him, and then he nearly killed him the next day. He also remembered how the leaders reacted to him at first too, his appearance gave the leaders quite the spook, but he now knew why.

They soon reached the Riverclan border, and he knew this from the overwhelming stench of lake water and fish. He looked up now and saw the moon and its partial fullness. They continued to walk up the stream right next to the border and it wasn't long until they reached the ever so dark Thunderpath.

"This is where you leave." Harespring said calmly. "I wish you luck in your life of exile."

Icefang nodded. "Before i go, can one of you tell Spottedwind I said hi? And tell her I wish her luck with her kits?"

A younger she cat came along, and narrowed her eyes. "How do you know of her bearing kits?" She said suspiciously. "Onestar never mentioned them at the gathering."

"Me and Spottedwind are great friends." He said. "She told me on a border patrol when our patrols met."

The she cat stare still had suspicion, but he nodded.

"Well Ill be headed off now." Icefang said. "Good luck with your Windclan endeavors."

One of the cats that was younger than the she cat that questioned him looked surprised of how calm and collected Icefang was. They probably told him i was a ruthless murderer. Regardless he turned his back and quickly ran across the Thunderpath, keeping his nose scrunched up due to the Monster stench.

He walked for a bit, then a splitting pain stopped him in his tracks. Growling with pain now, he felt his left eye go blind for a moment and then the familiar voice. Collapsing from the pain now, he took deep and heavy breaths, trying not to gasp from the pain.

"Now that you are away from the prying eyes let me formally introduce myself." It was Scourges voice, which grew louder. Icefang weakly looked up and saw the black tom with the purple collar looking at his ethereal claw extensions. "As you know my name is Scourge, but i was once feared by many, something real and some cat viewed as a menace." He looked away for a moment. "Now my name is used by mothers to get their kits to be good. I was once a leader of my own cats."

"Who… did you… lead?" Icefang focused on steadying his breathing, still asking the question.

Scourges shade got closer to Icefang, showing how his eyes always seemed dilated, and how his irises were thin slits. "Those stories the gray cat and the sandy one, the ones you call your elders? They saw me in the flesh and blood, trying to help my cats, they saw Bloodclan!"

Bloodclan? Icefang thought to himself. He remembered how Bloodclan was described as ruthless and evil, as their attempt to take the old forest described by Graystripe and Sandstorm, and were thwarted by Lionclan, or the four clans united under the leadership of Firestar.

"In the City, or the Twoleg place as your clans would call it, my cats were suffering from famine and pestilence, so it was only right for me to make the deal with that retched Tigerstar to get to the forest."

"And then you slaughtered Tigerstar?" Icefang asked, still slouching with a little bit of pain. Scourge simply nodded.

"Some of those visions you see when you are awake or when you dream are not just visions." Scourge began to say. "But some are in fact my own memories and experiences, so when you saw your leader, you saw my memory of Tigerstar."

"That clears things up for me." Icefang said, looking at his white paw, soon licking it.

"I know you've seen a lot of my memories and I assure you, that you siblings were much more kinder than mine, you got to know your father too, I would envy you if i were in the flesh." He whipped his tail quickly. "But looking at the past has never changed anything, so lets get going, as plans i have for the both of us are big."

"What do you mean by these "Big Plans?" Icefang had to ask, but only doing so in a cautious manner.

"You will learn of them once we get to our destination."

Scourges shade walked towards him, and the moment he touched Icefang's shadows, the splitting pain returned, causing Icefang to yelp in surprise, as the pain was not expected. He could feel scourges sprit rebinding to him as her fell back on the ground.

Of course, he looked to the side, to see the shadow that the moonlight produces to be with the bone studded collar and the claw extensions.

Taking deep breaths once again, he regained his strength and got up on all four. The pain had now passed, and he looked one direction, and started to head down that path.

Scourge said nothing, meaning he was going the right way.

_The soul of the Leader of Bloodclan inside me?_ Icefang pondered to himself. _What plans could he have?_

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_**Well I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Make sure to review, favorite and follow if you want to see more (all three of those are optional, and are solely up to your choice.)**_

_**Talon is out!**_


	23. XXIII: The Cutter

**The Cutter**

**Hey all! Sorry for the long hiatus, I had a writers block then my MacBook broke down on me, but still I wish I had released this chapter way earlier than this! Since there were so many reviews before this I will not answer any of the reviews, but I thank all of you who did review on the chapter before this, I enjoyed a lot of them!**

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Icefang had been walking for a while now. He knew it had to be less than a moon, but longer than eight night falls, as he had only stopped walking to eat, which was rarely, and to sleep whenever he felt safe. Some days flew by while others seemed to linger on forever. Being in this twoleg place also seemed to put him on edge, as a part of him always felt… uneasy and hostile, though he was alone. Maybe a part of him was telling him that constant danger was everywhere, but the stranger part was that there never seemed to be any cats around during the day, and only few at night. All that aside, he continued to walk.

It wasn't long before Icefang stopped to take a breath. He looked down at his paws and could see his pelt beginning to dull a bit. Then his stomach began to growl, as he had not eaten anything edible as nothing seemed to be around to eat. "Stupid twolegplace." Icefang growled. Something did catch his eye, though, and it was a dead crow, lying on the side of the thunderpath. Quickly using whatever energy he had to run towards it, and sniffed it. _If I eat this, I could get sick and maybe die… but if I don't eat it, I don't know when I may get my next meal…" _After a good moment, he finally lowered his head to take a bite. It didn't seem to taste any different from a bird.

Not long after the first bite, a monster could be heard. He raised his head to see a silver monster, with red glowing eyes slowly coming towards him. He quickly got out of the way.

He turned around to see the crowfood crushed by the monster, flattened by its weight. Furious now, he let out a yowl of frustration, and he walked over to a green box, that was tall, and reeked of crowfood. He jumped on top of it, and not a moment after, a strong breeze pushed one way making it move forward. He quickly jumped off, and but to his luck it tipped over and landed right on top of him. Everything went black afterwards.

It mustve been a good while, because when he awoke, he was no longer under the thing that had crushed him to begin with, and was lying on something very soft and comfortable. Was it all a nightmare? Was he just in the warriors den sleeping? It couldn't be since he could still smell the bitter scent of the medicine cats den. There was only one way to find out. He opened his eyes to see himself lying on a while fluffy den. He tried to stand up, but his leg was covered in something white. He sniffed it, and soon bit it to find out it was hard as stone itself.

He then heard his stomach growl, as he had not had eaten much, and a smell of fish did not help either. He got up, letting a growl of pain as his leg seemed to hurt extremely, and he had to assume his leg was sprained or even broken. Heavily limping he went over to the smell where he saw pellets of sorts. It didn't matter what it was or what it looked like, food was food. He dug his face into the bowl and began to eat all the food.

"I see you enjoy the food." A elderly voice said.

With a mouthful of food, he looked up to see a smoky gray tom, whose pelt seemed well trimmed. That was not all of course, was that he was missing his left eye and his right paw, and his ear seemed to be cut up.

"I see you didn't expect to see some cat way more mangled than yourself." He calmly commented on Icefang's surprised expression. Icefang's eyes wandered freely as he observed the seasoned elder, and how his injuries were severe.

"Well you'll be fine within a month or two." He said, then turned around. "My name is Percy." The cat called 'Percy' carefully jumped down onto a black and white floor, and with a stride to it, he walked so smoothly regardless of a missing paw.

"Percy." He repeated the cats name.

Icefang limped towards the wall that Percy had been talking through, and through the gate, he could see Percy looking through the other cages, as if he was strolling to supervise the other animals here.

Slowly turning to his nest, he crawled inside it, not revealing how tired he was. Within a moment of laying idly, in his nest, he found himself drifting off to sleep.

His eyes shut for a little moment, but then snapped back open again, but this time, there was no fatigue, and there was no cast, but there was the familiar tightness around his neck. In front of him was a black she cat, whose fur was trimmed in a similar manner to Percy's, assuming she was a kittypet, or a rouge fresh out of the cutter's. In her mouth, she held one full black kitten, with its eyes closed, but its body did an occasional twitch, signaling it was still alive.

"_This is your son Scourge." She said softly._

_He felt his head turn towards the queen. "I have no son, or a mate." He said coldly, and with no emotion._

"_You expect me to believe that Scourge?" She got closer to him. "After that one time, in greener pastures?"_

"_This talk is over, that kit is not mine, and is obviously another tom's problem." He turned his head away now. "Now give me a reason why I shouldn't slit your throat her and now?"_

"_Because Bloodclan need's fresh blood, and this kit is one of the many future warriors of Bloodclan, who will willingly fight under your command, and be willing to die for you." She got closer to him, which caused his pelt to ruffle up. "And he wont survive without me."_

_He lifted his paw, and raked the side of her face from the ear to the chin._

"_Next time you speak to me in such a manor, it will be a lot worse." Then there was a pause. "Now leave before I change my mind." He now began to walk away. He knew that kit was his, he just didn't accept it, nor did he need the responsibility of a son when he was leading a clan._

His eyes now opened slowly, as he felt something caressing his head. He could see the pink face of a twoleg, whose white paw was on his head. Icefang could see the twoleg was doing this in a non aggressive way, yet if he could, he would scratch the paw of the twoleg. Deciding against that idea, he gave a low growl to assert how he felt about this. The twoleg soon stopped, and then directed its attention towards a barking noise.

"Relax." He heard the voice from the right. If memory served him correctly, it was Percy. "He doesn't mean you any harm." And Percy soon showed up.

"How would you know?" He asked Percy suspiciously.

"I would know because he saved my life." The smoky gray tom said. "I don't expect you to trust him because you just met him, but he has been caring about me for years. Making sure I stay alive too."

Icefang could see in the tom's right eye the deep rooted respect fir the twoleg.

There was a moment of silence between the two cats. Percy seemed to be observing him, seeing all the claw marks on his side he assumed.

Icefang looked at the white thing that encased his leg. "So what is this thing on my leg?" He asked Percy.

"Oh that?" He said, moving his head towards the right so he could see it. "That is a cast." He said. "That is used for holding a bone that has cracked or made a full break in place."

"Is it only for cats?" He asked, curious about the medicine's twoleg had. He had to assume his curiosity for medicine came from his father.

"No." Percy said. "Ive seen dogs, birds, and even other twolegs wearing them."

Icefang nodded his head understanding the concept_. Like reed stalks_.

"So tell me how you got them scars." Percy pointed his tail to his pelt.

"I…"Icefang hesitated for a second. Then he spoke. "I fought other cats, protecting myself… and others." This of course was the truth… partially.

"I see." He turned, not asking anything more to his relief. "Im sure you have stories to add to those whom are already here."

"Other's?" Icefang asked questionably."

"Yes, others." Percy said. "Animals that are being treated are here, and animails that are waiting for adoption are in a different area."

"Are we all in one area, or what?" Icefang asked. He really wasn't looking forward to being moved out of here if he had to sleep in the same cages as dogs.

"For the most part all of the animals here are in different quarters." He said knowingly. "This is where youll be staying though until you are better."

"And how do I leave?" Icefang completely overlooked the thing Percy had just said.

"Patience." Percy said. "Once you get better ill tell you."

For the next half moon, the twoleg would check up on him, and all the other animals. He would come in with a yellow piece of moss that Percy called a 'sponge' and would brush him to keep him clean. Of course, getting wet was the least favorite part of this experience. But that wasn't all, no, sometimes at night, he would stay up, and stare into one of the corners, which did not have any moonlight lighting it up, and he could see two sets of eyes, one set of yellow, and another of amber. Then he would feel a light breeze brush upon his pelt, and a slight tug at his pelt. He knew the Dark Forest was watching him, but he was way out of their hunting grounds.

Percy would stop by occasionally, for a moment of chatter before heading off to do whatever he does. What he would usually tell him was that his recovery was speedy and he would be walking in no time.

Then day finally came when the cast was to be removed. When they did remove it, he felt the two pinches, the first one went into his side, causing him to shiver as it felt very cold. The second shot went in his back, and soon after that, everything went fuzzy. When he woke up, he could see his leg uncasted and when he tried to move it, it was sore, probably because he hadn't moved it at all in the past moon.

"So you got your cast removed." Percy said, licking his paw stub. "They also gave you other vaccinations too, just to be safe."

"Vaccinations?" Icefang asked Percy. "What are those?"

"Vaccinations are a way of preventing say a sickness before it gets spread to you."

"That's interesting." Icefang nodded his head.

"Well youll be moved to the other area soon, so be prepared to move." Percy told him, soon heading the direction he would assumingly be going.

Then the twoleg came into the room, picking him up, in a manor that seemed to be… caring. Sheathing his claws that naturally came out when threatened, he could see around, how the medicine area looked so… weird, with shelves of round things that he would assume to be medicine. As the twoleg walked, he couldn't help but notice a room that smelled of death, and he didn't know whether that was where the dead was put or if that was were animals were… killed.

It wasn't long before he was put onto the ground, and he turned his head to see the twoleg going back the way he came.

"Now that you are here, why don't you introduce yourself?" Percy asked, beckoning his tail in a manor.

The cats he saw included a dark gray she cat, whom had dark yellow eyes, who looked relatively young, almost his age in fact, but she had two kits, one was a tom that looked exactly like her, and the other one was a she kit with a light gray pelt with stripes on her back. Another cat was a tom who had a dark ginger pelt with a nick in his ear, and his eyes were a light shade of green. The last cat however looked as old as Bramblestar, but sounded so young. Maybe age had not been well on him, maybe it had.

"Well whats your name?" The young mother asked.

Surely he couldn't give his clan name… right?

"My name is Ice." He said. Simple as it was, it would have to do.

"Ice huh." Said the ginger tom. "Surely your not from around here, names Stinger by the way."

"How did you know?" He asked Stinger.

"Not much fighting happens round here." Stinger looked at his left paw. "Im guessing your from the city then."

"Yea…" He said. "The city."

He turned to look at the young mother. Her kits were hiding behind her, but were peaking from the sides, clearly frightened by the way he looked.

"My name is Emery." She said, slowly moving to the side to show her two kits.

"This is Tuti," She pointed her tail to the she kit. "And this is Sam." She pointed her tail to the other kit.

The eldest cat now spoke. "I see you joined us after recovery, as I did once." He simply said. "They call me Rey."

He nodded his head as he looed at all the cats, repeating their names in his head. _Stinger, Emery, Tuti, Sam, and Rey._

He now turned to Percy, slowly walking towards him. "So how do I get out?"

"Now that you are in this room, there are only two ways out." He said, not adding any more. "Ask Rey, and he will tell you."

Icefang nodded, as he turned to see Rey in the corner of the room. "Rey!" Icefang called out, slowly limping towards him.

Rey was unresponsive to the call. As he got closer, Rey made no attempt to look at him. He nudged hi which seemed to break him from his trance. It must've spooked him, because he flinched at the touch.

"Oh, its just you Ice." He said calmly, then letting out a cough.

"Percy told me to ask you if there was a way out of here?"

"Yes, yes, two ways out of this place, if I remember correctly." He began. "The first way out is with a twoleg family, which takes young cats such as Emery and her kits." He now looked at Icefang. "That's adoption."

He nodded his head. "And the second way?"

Rey seemed like he didn't want to answer that question. "The second way, I fear maybe the way I leave this place." His voice got quiet. "And that way… that way may as well be death."

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**Well here it is! I decided to stay all night typing this chapter from my notebook, and it only took so long due to motivational issues, but here it is and I hope to release another chapter in a lesser time than before!**

**Talon out!**


	24. XXIV:Getting Out

**Getting out**

**Well heres another chapter, at least it isn't 3 months after the last one XD**

**Jaguarstar: Thank you for the compliment :3 I hope you love this chapter.**

**Ashcat: Well his problems just get bigger after a smaller one is solved XD**

**Solomon7: Those cats will play a role, some bigger than others, but for the most part they will. Also the Jayfeather Briarlight thing you had in mind would be for a different chapter later in the series.**

**Long live books: Thanks :3 Well heres another chapter for you :D**

**Well let us get into this chapter about Pinepaw.**

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Pinepaw woke up, per day's usual. It had been almost two moons since Icefang had been exiled, missing him dearly of course, and she feared what could've happened to him. For all she knew, he could be lying in a clearing dead! But something… strange told her that he was still alive, not Starclan no… but something different.

She now groomed her fur, flattening all the parts that had been sticking upwards. Soon walking out of the apprentice's den, she saw the dawn hunting patrol come back, with less prey then the day before. Leafbare was coming, and all the prey had been going towards their dens to sleep, or so Cinderheart had told her. She sat as she saw her mentor walk out of the warrior's den, then to Squirrelflight. After the conversation, Cinderheart looked towards Pinepaw, soon beckoning her tail so she could go over to her.

Pinepaw walked over to her mentor whom was waiting patiently.

"Today we will be on a border patrol." Cinderheart said with a yawn. "I just talked with Squirrelflight and she said we would tag along with Dunecloud, Whitewing, Rosepetal, Firepaw and Shadepaw."

Pinepaw of course, just nodded. _Just a border patrol._

She walked out of camp with the patrol soon enough, beginning to walk towards Windclan's border.

The time that Icefang had been gone of course, Pinepaw spent most of her time pondering the prophecy that Bramblestar had told her before exiling Icefang.

_An Ice colder than Leafbare can only be thawed by the friendships forged in the sands, and a love grown through hardships through the violent breezes. She thought to herself. What more could it mean._

She sighed and took a deep breath. _Lets list out what I know already. I know the Ice is Icefang, the violent breezes are Breezepelt and Clawpelt, as they both tried to have me killed, and I could possibly be the love… She paused for a second. There has to be more than that…_

"Pinepaw speed up! You're falling behind!" Firepaw said with a smile on his face. She knew something between Firepaw and Creampaw made him happy, maybe a bit of romance? Alas that was all aside. She sped up to catch up to Shadepaw who was right behind Firepaw.

Then it hit her. _What if the Ice is something more than just Icefang? What if it is the monster that Bramblestar and Jayfeather had mentioned? _ Then she remembered when Jayfeather had questioned Icefang about clan history, specifically mentioning the Battle of Bloodclan. _Icefang had mentioned two names! I need to know more about those two cats! _

She rushed up to Firepaw. _Maybe he knows more about Scourge or Bone!_

"Hey Firepaw." She said to him.

"Hey Pinepaw, lovely day we are having, despite leafbare being right around the seasons turn."

She nodded in agreement. "I have a question Firepaw." She began. "Do you remember the elder's tales we always used to listen too as kits."

Firepaw looked confused. "I remember most of them… Why?"

"Do you remember any cats with the name 'Bone' or 'Scourge'?" She asked.

"Um… No?" He said, with a confused look. "I'm pretty sure Graystripe would know what you are talking about though."

"Hm." She said thoughtfully.

The day progressed, they patrolled the Windclan and Shadowclan borders, and then headed back to camp for a short sliver of time where they would rest for a bit before heading towards the training hollow.

The moment she got back into camp, she immediately headed towards the Elders Den. There she saw Graystripe and Millie talking while Sandstorm slept deeper in the den. Leafpool slept beside her mother. Leafpool had moved into the Elders den after officially retiring from being the Warrior-medicine cat role she had been doing for a while.

"Hellow Pinepaw." Millie said with a smile on her face. "What brings you here?"

"I need to ask Graystripe something." She said, then looking at Graystripe.

"Well what's on your mind young one." He looked at Pinepaw, waiting for her question.

"Well I was remembering some of the stories that you told us when we were kits, and I was wondering about some of the cats in those stories."

"Well which ones?" He said with a small chuckle.

"The story with the Battle of Bloodclan." Pinepaw said. "Do you remember the cats Scourge or Bone?"

Graystripe's face slowly turn solid, as if he was remembering that day. It was understandable for him, as those seemed to be dark times, or from what she had heard from the tales and stories.

"I don't remember a cat name Bone." He began "But Scourge." Graystripe repeated the name. "Scourge… He was the cat that tried to run us out of our old home so many seasons ago with his army of cats from the Twolegplace called Bloodclan."

"Do you remember what he looked like?" She asked, just trying to get to the point of it.

Graystripe's eyes filled with thought for a second. "If I recalled, he had a black pelt." He then closed his eyes, and scrunched his eyes as he remembered. "That tiny tyrant also had a purple bone collar with bones in it, and his eyes were as blue as ice, and his left paw was as white as snow when it wasn't painted with the blood of our clanmates, or specifically Tigerstar's."

She nodded her head thoughtfully.

"Tell me again what you're going to do with this information?" Graystripe asked, somewhat intruding on her intentions.

"I just never knew what he looked like." She told her excuse. "I was thinking about it while I was on patrol. Thank you for the information." She turned around and walked away, feeling that Graystripe was a bit suspicious of her intention.

_Scourge looked exactly like Icefang? _She thought to herself._ I would've never guessed it! _She sat down for a moment. _If Icefang and Scourge share a same mind, what would I do if I had the chance for free reign? _She looked around for a moment. Then it popped into her head. _I would search for home! That means he would be headed to a place he would call home! _And there she knew where Icefang would be headed. She could go find him after all! _He would be headed for the Twolegplace!_

But of course there was a problem. How would she get out of camp undetected? Let alone the territories? Even after that what if she faced trouble, she knew she wouldn't be able to defend herself, even if she had learned more battle training since that little incident two moons ago.

_I could take Thistlepaw, or Firepaw. They would be happy to see Icefang again._ Then she continued to think._ I would also need a warrior to take us out to make it seem less suspicious, then we could go! _She paused for a moment. _We would have to use the cover of the night though… so that would mean that I would need two cats I could trust to be on night watch… _She looked over to see Dunecloud talking to Acornfur. Then a light lit up in her mind. _I could ask those two to take the night watch to cover it!_

She walked over to Dunecloud and Acornfur, who were now sharing tongues.

"I need to ask of a favor of you two." She said quickly, knowing the resting time would be over soon, and she would have to return to training.

"Well what is it?" Acornfur asked Pinepaw.

"I need you two to ask for nightwatch."

"And what for?" Dunecloud asked. "I enjoy my sleep as much as any cat does."

"I know, I know, but it's for an important matter." Pinepaw said. "I'm going to go search for Icefang, and I need to get out of camp silently."

"Are you crazy?" Acornfur asked Pinepaw. "Searching for Icefang like that is like searching for a tick on the back of a badger!"

"Please, I have a hunch on where he is headed too." She told them. "Just worry about getting me out of camp, I just need to find someone who is willing to come with me."

With great hesitation, Dunecloud looked at Acornfur. "Are you sure Pinepaw?" She knew he had a lot of doubt that she knew what she was doing.

"I can feel it Dunecloud, I know Icefang is headed somewhere, I just need to get to him."

Acornfur looked at her, and then back to Dunecloud. He soon looked at Acornfur, and then nodded. "Alright, well get you out of camp, or Starclan make me a crow."

Pinepaw smiled at them. "Thank you."

"Pinepaw!" Her mentor called. "Lets get going now."

"Ill talk to you later!" She told the two, before rushing over to her mentor.

She could see that along with Cinderheart who was waiting was Whitewing with Firepaw, Hollystream with Patchpaw, Berrynose with Creampaw, Cloudtail with Thrushpaw, Lilyheart with Thistlepaw and Rosepetal with Shadepaw.

She looked at the apprentices, and she knew she had a wide variety to choose from.

She knew she would not take Patchpaw, as he seemed to be quite timid, and a lot of a pacifist, so if they got into a tight spot, she wouldn't be able to rely on him. Thrushpaw and Shadepaw weren't that close to Icefang, so it's less than likely that they would care as much. Firepaw seemed like a good choice, but so did Thistlepaw. Of course those two seemed to have some sort of trouble between each other, as if it developed overnight. Creampaw would be great company, and Firepaw seemed completely fine with her… in fact, it would be great to take those two with her, as they might perceive it as a chance to spend time with each other away from the prying eyes. Slowly moving towards Firepaw, who of course was currently chatting with Creampaw.

"Hey Firepaw." Pinepaw began, nudging to them.

"Oh hey Pinepaw, how's your day been."

"Great." She quickly said. "I have a question to ask of you two, more of a favor." She began. "I want to go find Icefang, but hear me out." She began. "I get a feeling that he is still alive, but I also know where he is heading, I just need company to come with me."

"Have you brought this up with Bramblestar?" Creampaw asked her. "I really don't want to get in trouble for this…"

"I haven't brought up with Bramblestar, and that's because he would never let me go out, even with the most solid of a reason." She now looked at Firepaw. "Just trust me on this, and this trip just might be the most exciting thing you might do with your life now."

She could see Firepaw has a spark in his eye, which was contemplating this idea, while Creampaw didn't seem O.K. with this idea.

Creampaw looked at Firepaw now, and she had that disapproving look. "You aren't seriously considering this now are you?"

"It's a chance to see my brother again Creampaw, why wouldn't I choose to do this?" He asked her. "If you don't want to come, that's fine, but I want to see the world outside of the clan's too, just a good chance to do so." He smiled and looked Pinepaw. "Ill come with you to find Icefang."

Pinepaw and Firepaw both looked at Creampaw. "Well are you in or not?" The ginger tom asked the creamy white pelted apprentice. "Or are you just gonna let us have the fun exploring?"

She looked troubled for a second. She had the look that said she wanted to go with Firepaw, but at the same time she wanted to stay here, which is understandable, as she would want to finish her training. "But how will we get out?" Creampaw asked. "Wouldn't the night guards just catch us trying to sneak out?"

"I already had that arranged, Dunecloud and Acornfur should be the night guards, allowing us to get out easily."

Creampaw nodded. "Alright then, I'll tag along for this trip of yours, but if something goes wrong, we head back."

Pinepaw nodded. "Ok then." She now looked at both of them. "We head out tonight."

"Tonight?" Creampaw asked confused.

"Yes, tonight, and nothing is changing that departure time." Pinepaw said. "Just be ready to be awoken at night.

So the day continued on, training was done, prey was eaten before heading to sleep, normal such. Then came the time. Pinepaw did not sleep, but rather kept her eyes barely open, giving the allusion of slumber. Then she got up and checked the camp entrance to see Dunecloud and Acornfur standing watch.

_Everything is going to plan so far…_ She went back into the apprentice den to wake up Firepaw and Creampaw, whom both were snuggled next to eachother.

Firepaw got up quickly, as he expected it, but Creampaw got up rather sluggish. After they got up, slowly and quietly, they walked out of the den to the camp entrance where they met up with Dunecloud.

"Ill walk you out to the border." Dunecloud said quietly as he proceeded to lead the group of apprentices. Acornfur looked around as if this ordeal was not occurring.

The three apprentices and the warrior walked together as they got closer and closer to the Windclan border. Then she spotted a patch of lavender.

"Lets roll in this before we get to the border." She suggested. "It should cover our scent while we are still on the territories."

She dropped down and began to roll in the patch of lavender while the other two apprentices waited for their turn. Then Firepaw rolled in it, and finally Creampaw did. They then continued to go towards the border, until they finally reached it.

"Ok I wish best of luck to you three." He said, looking at specifically Pinepaw. "Make sure to give Icefang my regards when you find him." He turned away and began walking to camp.

"Why don't you come with us?" Pinepaw asked Dunecloud. "I'm pretty sure Icefang would be happy to see a friendly face other than ours."

"Well you see Pinepaw… uh how do I explain this?" He began. "Me an Acornfur are mates, and I would not want to leave her behind, since she just found out she will be bearing my kits."

"Your going to be a father!?" Firepaw exclaimed. "Why haven't you told anyone then?"

"Well Acornfur didn't want anyone to know yet, as they may treat her differently, since her parents are the deputy and leader, so its understandable."

Firepaw nodded his head with comprehension. "So until we meet once more, I could expect a full nursery?"

Dunecloud nodded, and chuckled. "Well I better get back to camp, if some cat wakes up and sees me gone, they could think something is off." Dunecloud turned around and began to walk back to camp.

Pinepaw looked at the claw moon now. _I promised you I would be happy Icefang, but how can I be happy without you? _She then sighed. _Well I'll be happy once I see you again…_

* * *

_**Well there you have it, another chapter, this one about Pinepaw back at the clan's going to get out of the clans to go find her love :3 This chapter was originally gonna be the chapter where it continues with Icefang, but it will be next one. **_

_**Well I hope you all have a great reading session in your respective time zones :3 And I bid you all farewell til next chapter :3**_

_**Talon is out!**_


	25. XXV: Pieces of the Past

**Pieces of the Past**

**Well well well, here is another chapter of AHSC, here is the response to the reviews!**

**Crazychessgurl: Thanks for being such an avid fan of my story :3**

**Firefall: Well im glad you liked my story with OC's :3 I hope I get to see more reviews from you :3**

**Stormyfeather: We will be seeing more of Pinepaw soon enough :3**

**Raven: Thanks for the compliment, I hope you love this chapter**

**Long Live Books: Thanks for thinking that :3 Heres another chapter**

**Sierra Shadow Nightingale: Here is the next chapter :3**

**Solomon7: I can tell you they will find him with time, but who knows how long?**

**Now here is a chapter about Icefang.**

* * *

"How do I get adopted?" Icefang asked Rey. "You said young cats like me and the others can get out by this 'adoption'."

Rey looked at Icefang. "Getting adopted is simple." He said. "Just look and act nice and cute, and then you should be out in no time." He looked back out the area they were at. "And I know the Upwalkers would love a small cat like you."

"Upwalkers? Don't you mean Twolegs?" Icefang asked.

"They are the same thing." Rey swished his tail in a manner that showed he didn't care what they were called. "I've lived a good life anyways, was a father to five, but they are out with their Upwalkers and I'm here." He looked back at Icefang now. "I landed here once my Upwalkers left me in their old den." Then he sighed. "You should get to know the others Ice, they are really good cats and you don't know how much longer they will be here before they are adopted, or you're adopted."

He nodded then left Rey to his business. He looked around the clearing he was in to see Emery with her kits, and Stinger was sitting, grooming patches of fur on his sides. _I could talk with either or… _He thought. _I should talk with Stinger, he looks like he's been around here longer._

He started to head towards the dark ginger tom. "Hey Stinger." He said, walking up to him. "So what's your story being here."

"You first." Stinger said. "I don't tell my story to strangers."

"I guess we are at a stand off then." Icefang said with a stern glare, but soon relaxed it.

"So where are you really from." Stinger asked him, with the suspicious gaze. "You don't look like your from the city, I just assumed that you where from it because of those patches of white fur that covers the scar's, but your fur isn't long enough to keep you warm during the winters of the city."

"My fur is just fine to keep me warm during the winter." Icefang said, somewhat offended by that.

Stinger chuckled. "Not the winters of the city." He began. "I spent one winter there because I was traveling, I've seen cats freeze to death on the side of the road, with fur slightly longer than yours." Now he stood on all fours. "Now really tell me where you're from."

Icefang blinked, contemplating whether or not he should really tell him where he was from. _I mean I'll probably never see him again once I get adopted if I do._ "I'm actually from the lake." He said.

"You mean the lake with those cats that eat bones?" Stinger said, with a puzzled face. "You don't look like you eat bones for anything."

"Oh that rumor, yeah… that's not true, I don't know why every cat just knows us for that." He said. "But yeah, I'm from the lake, and so are my parents, healing those who got hurt."

"Ah, so just like the cutter?" Stinger asked Icefang, who nodded. "So is that how you got your scars then?" Stinger asked, soon licking his paw. "Defending your territory and stuff?"

"Yes it is," He said, not telling him exactly how he did. _He wouldn't exactly believe that I murdered a bunch of dead cats…_

"Well, now that I got your story, let me explain my story." Stinger sat, looking at Icefang.

"I was only slightly younger than you were Ice." He began telling his story. "I was treated like a king by my Upwalkers, they fed me, cared for me like I was one of their own kits." He then looked at the paw he just licked. "Then I left it all behind."

"Why did you?" He asked, confused. _Stinger must've known he was living a life of luxury._

"It was too boring." He shrugged. "Same things every day, walk around the house, get fed, get all the attention, and last but not least, sleep." Now he stared into his emerald green eyes. "I wanted life to be more before I got sucked into that life, so one night, I snuck out, leaving everything I had."

"Wasn't it hard, leaving everything you knew behind?" Icefang asked. "I mean you must've missed the life you had."

"Nope, I didn't attach myself to those luxuries as you may've thought." He looked back at the young tom. "In fact I was glad to have left it, though it must've broke my Upwalker's heart." His face seemed to become clouded with thought now, but only for a moment before snapping out of it. "But I figured I was happier as a loner in the wild, feeling free all the time… until now."

Icefang nodded his head. "Done anything you regretted?"

"Beside being captured and getting in here?" He said questioned. "Then no." He looked at Icefang. "Have you done anything that you regretted?"

"Getting exiled." He said. "I miss my home."

"Why did you get exiled?" Stinger asked, intrigued.

"I killed a couple of cats." Icefang simply said. "It wasn't meant to happen, but I was protecting those I… care about."

"Family or those who mean a little bit more than family?" Stinger asked, with a sly grin on his face.

"Those who mean more to me." Icefang said slowly. "I need to get out of here to do something."

Stinger began to chuckle. "Well I guess we know each others stories." He turned away now. "Good luck then." Stinger got up and then walked away.

Then the last cat he could talk to was Emery. The mother of two.

Icefang slowly walked over to her. "Hello Emery."

"Oh hi Ice." She said calmly, as her kits quickly went behind her. "Oh don't mind them their just timid, nice looking collar though, it really complements your eyes."

"Collar?" He said. He barely noticed it wrapped around his neck. _Scourge must've been used to wearing one._

"Yes, the purple band around your neck." Emery said.

Icefang nodded. "I see." He now looked at her dark yellow eyes. "It must be hard to be a mother at this age."

"Tell me about it." She said. "One moment I'm a kit who was found by Upwalkers in an alley, next I find myself bearing kits." She looked at him. "Do you have kits?"

"No." He said calmly.

"Well do you want kits?" She asked him.

"Um…" He felt embarrassed for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that he never actually thought of having kits. "Maybe someday." He finally said.

"Well if you do have kits, don't abandon or treat your kits like they aren't there." She said. "At least let them know you're their father."

"Why are you telling me this?" Icefang asked. None of this seemed important to his current task, just some random advice.

"Because their father did that." She said, pointed her tail to her kits. "When my kits first met their father, they didn't know they were his children…" She looked angry now, in a controlled way. "It gets me so angry that, that slob for a father doesn't even come to visit his kits anymore." She then sighed. "I don't know I believed him for a moment either, all those things he said that one night just turned to be lies." She turned away for a moment. "I love these kits don't get me wrong, but their father is who I hate."

Icefang nodded. "I see." He now looked at the kits. "Why are you two afraid of me?"

"You look like one cat from mommies story." The kit known as Tuti said. "Like the bad one."

"Um?" Icefang seemed confused.

"He does mommy!" Sam now said, his voice squeaking. "He wants to eat us like you said!"

"Eat you?" Icefang was confused. "What stories have you been telling them?"

"Tales that their father used to tell me." She said, in her eyes, was the longing for the past. "He told me tales he had heard from his mom that was passed on from her mom." She now looked at him. "He always told tales of some group of cats that were lead by a black cat with icy eyes, and had bones in his collar." She told him. "Apparently this happened in the other city after this one."

"Really?" He asked, more intrigued than before. "What else did you hear?"

"Um…" Emery thought for a moment. "He was a ruthless leader, or a tiny tyrant as he would describe." She now looked at Icefang. "You do have an uncanny resemblance to him… are you sure you're not like related to him?"

"Um… Not that I know of." Icefang replied.

"You have to be, you have the looks!" Emery said.

"Enough about this." Icefang said, looking at Emery. "Tell me more about this story."

"Well Percy said his father had fought them and they had won, from the stories he told the kits, if you wanted to know that." She told him.

"Wait a moment." Icefang said with a sudden realization. "Did you say Percy's father fought them?"

"Yes? Why?"

Icefang's eyes widened for a moment, remembering the stories that Graystripe, and Sandstorm had told him, remembering how the clans fought and defeated Bloodclan when Firestar killed Scourge.

"I need to speak to Percy." He said. "Now."

"Well just wait until he comes around." She said. "Why would you need to talk to Percy though?"

"Because my fathers mother's father fought Bloodclan!" He said with the excitement. "That means Percy can help me with what I need to know! Percy knows more about the past than I do!"

"Well wait then." Emery said. "Just tell me more about you then, because you are not the cat that you said you were, for all we know your name is not Ice at all!"

He sighed. "Well, my name is partially Ice, it's short for Icefang. I'm from a place where there are four clans, Percy might have told of them."

She shook her head. "He didn't get into details, it said it made his miss his family."

"Well I was exiled though and basically sums up how I got here." Icefang said, just to finish up his story. "Don't worry about how and why, but I just need to talk to Percy."

"Well just lay down and relax, you look like you could use some relaxation." Emery said. "Just sleep in that nest over there, and I'll make sure to wake you up when Percy comes along."

He sighed, not wanting to sleep with these new facts just arising. "Well I guess so…" He grumbled and headed towards the nest. He lay in the soft nest, and just thought.

_What else could Percy know? What other secrets does Percy have, other than being a former clan cat, now kittypet? _He sighed once more. _So many questions, so little time._

Now slowly drifting off to sleep, he closed his eyes as his breathing got steadier.

Soon enough he woke up, but not from Emery, no, but it was as if he was in yet another vision. But this one was different, as this vision was not about the past, or what was to come of him, but of others.

He saw three figures, and a mountain. One with brown fur, another with ginger, and last one with white fur, climbing up that same mountain he passed when he arrivied in the Twolegplace. Could it be who he thought it was? _Surely not! _He told himself. _But what if they are?_

_Let them find you after you have done what needs to be done. _The voice that embodied Scourge spoke. _You'll meet again. I guarantee it. _

Soon shaking woke him up. Slowly opening his icy blue eyes, he saw Emery's dark gray pelt next to Percy's smoky grey pelt.

"I hear you wanted to talk to me?" The seasoned cat spoke. "Well just come with me then."

Icefang soon got up and stretched. "Indeed I do." He said with a slight yawn, and then followed him.

"So you want to know more about my past huh?" Percy said, now sitting down.

Icefang nodded, looking at Percy. He noticed his paw was no longer missing, but rather something was there where it was. "What is that on?" Icefang asked, confused.

"Oh this." He raised his leg to show it. "Its something new my owner gave me. It allows me to walk like I used too."

Icefang nodded. "Well what I wanted to ask you was that about the past." He said. "Emery said you added to her story about Bloodclan."

"And what about Bloodclan?" Percy asked, somewhat suspicious.

"You said your father fought Bloodclan, and well my fathers mother father did too."

Percy seemed to stop, and his eyes seemed to lock onto Icefang. "Are you telling me who you think you are?" He now looked at Icefang more closely, narrowing his eyes. "Are you telling me you're a clan cat?"

Icefang nodded his head. "I am."

"Whose your father?" He asked.

"Jayfeather." Icefang replied.

"I don't know him, but who was his mother then?" Percy asked, trying to learn more.

"Leafpool." Icefang told him.

"Leafpool?" He looked at him now. "For the short time I knew her, she was still Leafpaw, a medicine cat apprentice… wait a moment, isn't that against the warrior code? For a medicine cat to have kits?"

"Well times have changed." Icefang shrugged. "My father and mother are both medicine cats and there was no rule against it when I was born."

"Who's the leader of Shadowclan?" He asked. "I need to know."

"Rowanstar is." Icefang said. "Why?"

"So Blackstar is dead…" He turned away. "He saved my life when I was a kit."

Icefang was confused. This elderly cat was more than just Percy. _What else did Percy know?_

"And the leader of Thunderclan?" Percy asked, with extreme interest. "Is it still Firestar?"

"Bramblestar is now the leader." He told him.

"So Rowanclaw became Rowanstar and Brambleclaw became Bramblestar?" He looked up with thought. "A lot has changed then."

"Who are you?" Icefang asked. "Really?"

He looked at Icefang now. "I was merely a young apprentice that was left behind, fell what surely should've been death." He looked at him. "After all it was during the Great Journey." He now looked at the fake paw. "Everything was cold, I couldn't feel this paw, and most of my body was burning with pain." He sighed. "For a good while, I prayed to Starclan to end me there and then, yet the Twoleg you know as the Cutter found me and made me whole again, treated me for all those seasons."

"So who are you?" Icefang asked again. "What was your clan name?"

Percy now looked at Icefang. "My name was Smokepaw before I was left for dead."

Icefang nodded. "So you lived in the old forest?" Icefang asked.

"Only for a short while." Percy replied. "I was halfway through my training before I got here." He looked at him. "You look no bigger than a apprentice."

"Well I'm a warrior, and my name is Icefang."

"Icefang huh?" He said with a grin on his face. "So what brings you out here in these parts?"

"Well I was told too." He said. "But not fully because of the leaders, but because a voice told me."

"Ah, I see." He said. "Well if you ever go back there make sure to send Rowanstar my regards."

He nodded. "I really need to get back on my journey, is there any way you could get me out?"

"I think there is." He said. "But you'll need to be quick." Percy began to head towards the way he exited earlier. Icefang stopped for a moment. "What about Rey?" He said. "Isn't the Cutter going to put him down?"

"That is true…" Percy said. "Just get him then, and he can leave too."

Icefang ran over to Rey, who was looking in the direction of the room with the stench of death. "Rey, we've overstayed our visit, lets go."

Rey shook his head. "But what would I do if I was to leave? Just die on the streets?"

Icefang looked at Rey confused. "Death is a part of life, and I've accepted that my fate shall end in here, where Percy will comfort me as I experience it." He now looked at Icefang. "On the other hand, you have a long life to live, and you should get going, the cutter could come back into this room at any moment."

"If he doesn't want out, then I'll take it." Icefang turned around and saw Stinger. "Just lead the way and I'll follow you out." Icefang nodded and began to head towards Percy.

"He said he wants to stay and die here." Icefang sighed.

"Well it is his last choice." Percy shrugged. "Now lets get you out of here."

Icefang and Stinger soon followed Percy, who confidently walked throught the Cutter while they walked with extreme caution.

"Today is a slow day, there shouldn't be to many Twolegs here."

Percy was right. They basically waltz out of the Cutter's.

"Well here is where I leave you two. Good luck on your future endeavors." Percy said, returning to the Cutter.

"Well now that we are out, which direction is the city?" Icefang asked Stinger.

"Oh its that way." Stinger pointed his tail towards the cities direction. "Whatever you plan on doing there, good luck. " Stinger began to walk in the opposite direction.

Icefang smiled, and began to head towards the City. _You'll be in a place where I call home._ Scourge said. _Soon enough._

* * *

**Well there you have it, another chapter of AHSC, and its great to have reached 25 Chapters with all of your support :3 I hope you liked this chapter, and if you like what I've written, fav me, if you want to see more of this story, fav and follow, and if you just want to tell me something, or give a suggestion, review!**

**Talon is out!**


	26. XXVI:The Blizzard

**The Blizzard**

**Well hello all! I'm back from all the technical shuff that school gives us, and now I'm here to sate your appetite for another chapter of A Heart So Cold! But first reviews!**

**iToxic: Hey! Its great to see you here, thanks for showing here, and I hope to see your next chapter of Roar of the Lion :3**

**Crazychessgurl: I liked Smokepawas a character, and how he met his doom was questionable, it did leave a lot open for storywriters like me to reintroduce him back.**

**Raven that Flies at Night: Well its really difficult not to listen to the only one you could really chat with…**

**Longlivebooks: Thanks for the contious support to my stories, my goal is to make sure that you enjoy your reading's here**

**Solomon7: Stinger began to walk in the opposite direction of Icefang, but im quite certain a new character will be introduced sooner or later…**

* * *

It had been no longer than three sunrises ago that these three had began their journey to find Icefang, and they were making great progress. Firepaw walked right behind Pinepaw, but next to Creampaw. He knew that he would get to see new places, but by Starclan, he never expected to climb the mountain! He had heard his mother tell him stories from his father about the cats that lived on the mountain, and how they used to live at the lake as a group she liked to call "The Ancients". Still, climbing this mountain was quite interesting, as they forest got smaller as they went higher. The only problem he had was that it also got colder as they went up.

"Sure is getting cold." Creampaw said, getting closer to him.

"Uh… yea…" He nervously chuckled, as he felt his pelt getting warmer, and not just from her touch, but from a sense of embarrassment he felt, as he felt somewhat uncomfortable, this show of affection she displayed towards him. _Why should I feel embarrassed? _He told himself. _I need to loosen up with this… after all, we are together… _He sighed, remembering the night that they got together. They are walking the path of acceptance together….

He shook his head though, remembering how Thistlepaw was fully confident about getting Creampaw's love, just to be rejected by her, and for him to get her after his failure made him feel… bad. He knew what if felt to be rejected and he could sympathize with him… after all it did happen to him. But he could not stop thinking about that. He not only found love for himself, but he _stole_ some other cat's chance at love, and that seemed to put some anxiety in his mind. Sometimes he would wonder if Thistlepaw would still treat him as the friend he was to him before that night, but he did notice that before their departure that Thistlepaw really parted himself from him. _I hope he could forgive me._

"The sky is getting darker." Pinepaw said, with a hint of concern in her voice. "We should find some kind of shelter soon."

Firepaw nodded. "It looks like it's going to rain." He commented. "Or maybe snow." He had actually never seen snow in his life, as he was born in leaf bare, but never had his eyes opened until the season got warmer. He had only heard stories of snow from the elders and warriors, and a little from the young warriors that were senior apprentices when they were fresh apprentices.

They continued to walk until they scented a heavy scent, as if this area in specific, had been marked to keep things… away, like a warning.

"Do you smell that?" Creampaw asked, and Firepaw nodded in response. "Well we should—" Soon a flake of snow caused them to stop speaking.

It soon landed onto Firepaw's nose, which caused him to flinch back due to the sudden feeling. He was amazed as the snow began to slowly fall. It was indeed a truly new experience, and when he looked over towards Pinepaw, she had a smile of joy, something he hadn't seen since Icefang was still in Thunderclan. Of course, the light snowfall soon became a heavier as one snowflake became two, and then it began to snow so fast that Pinepaw's once brown pelt was soon dappled with white spots, and Creampaw's fur had a tone shift due to the different shade of white on her back. This snow caused Firepaw to shake, and he could guess that Creampaw and Pinepaw would be just as cold.

It became quite clear that this snowfall would not be normal, as their vision slowly started to become less visible as the snow continued to fall. "We need to get somewhere shelter!" Firepaw exclaimed, looking at Pinepaw, and then Creampaw. "Fast!" They continued to trudge through the snow, and it soon seemed to rise, and come from right underneath them, slowing them down with every paw step.

_We are going to freeze if we don't get somewhere safe!_ Firepaw's thoughts slowly fell into a state of panic. He didn't show it, as he did not want to elicit fear and incite panic from the other two. He was starting to feel… afraid, worried, and during these kind's of situations, these feelings were not helpful.

Looking around he caught a glimpse of a figure, which did in fact resemble a cat. And this mysterious figure seemed to be looking their way._ That could be our savior! _ "Help us!" He yowled, nearly at the top of his lungs, as snow continued to pelt his face, and blurred his vision.

The figure then went away for a brief moment, as if it completely ignored his cry for help. It wasn't long after that he saw Creampaw collapse, her face half in the snow. _No!_ He grabbed Creampaw by the scruff and began to drag her,in a desperate attempt to not leave her behind, but he too, soon felt the cold begin to overcome him, as his legs seemed to what felt like they froze. He collapsed with Creampaw next to him, and his face half in the snow. It wasn't long when he looked forward, and saw the brown pelted apprentice tread a few more steps, just to collapse onto her side, just as he did. His eyelids grew heavy, blinking rapidly, attempting to keep himself awake. _This cannot be the way I go! _But as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier, he saw a couple of figures walk up to him, and one lifted up Pinepaw, one lifted up Creampaw, and as the last figure walked up to him he couldn't help give a weak smile. "Starclan?" He whispered lightly as his eyes closed.

His eyes opened slowly, as he felt himself in a nest, with Creampaw and Pinepaw, but something felt… different. This wasn't a nest in Thunderclan territory, no, this area was filled with foreign scents, and he knew for a fact this is not what Shadowclan or Windclan smelt like.

"Welcome young one." A voice said. Firepaw lift his head to see a gray speckled she cat, looking at him. "I see that you have finally awoken."

He nodded, but then began to shiver, causing him to curl back up, going right next to the other two. He noticed that her fur was more bulky than his, meaning she kept warmer than he did. Of course, after his awaking, it wasn't long before his companions woke up.

"Where are we?" Creampaw asked, yawning.

"You three are in the Cave of Rushing water." A dark gray tom with amber eyes spoke. "You do know that blizzards are deadly right?"

"A blizzard?" Pinepaw asked. "Is that like a rainstorm, but just with snow?"

"You guessed it." He said, now looking at Firepaw, as if he was observing all his features. "You look like a cat I knew." He now looked at the other two. "All of you couldn't be older than eight seasons, so what brings you to our territory?"

"We are looking for a friend, that may have passed by here." Firepaw said, looking at this cat.

"I assure you there have been no cats that have passed by here." He said, calmly. "Once this blizzard passes, you can leave, and be on your way."

"Who are you all?" Firepaw asked this cat.

"We are the Tribe of Rushing water." The gray she cat behind this dark gray one said.

Firepaw's eyes widened. _Of course! How come I didn't guess it sooner!_ "My mother told me all about your tribe!" The ginger tom said, with the realization of this being the tribe.

"Really?" The amber eyed tom narrowed his eyes. "And who may your mother be?"

"My mother's name is Briarlight." Firepaw told him, and this cat's eyes seemed to fling open, as if he was in shock.

"Well met then!" His tone seemed to change from suspicious and hostile to calm and friendly. "Briarlight is my half sister, so that makes you kin." He said with a smile. "Name is Stormfur, used to be a part of Riverclan." He replied. "And your names are?"

"My name is Firepaw." The ginger tom said, then looked at the creamy white apprentice. "This is Creampaw." Then pointing his tail at the brown pelted apprentice he spoke. "And that would be Pinepaw."

"All three of you are apprentice's?" He said in shock. "Wow you must've gone through a great deal of trouble to get out here now haven't you?"

"Psst." The gray she cat seemed to be trying to get Stormfur's attention. "We shouldn't be speaking to the stranger's as if they had been living with us all this time."

"Alright Rain." Stormfur now looked at the three apprentice's. "Ill speak to you later, but soon the Stoneteller is going to want to speak with you three, and ask almost the same questions as I did."

"When will we speak with the Stoneteller?" Firepaw had to ask. He just assumed that the Stoneteller was their equivalent to a leader.

"When two cave guard beside Rain here, then you go with them." Stormfur said. "But for now, just stay here."

The three apprentice's nodded as Stormfur turned around, and began to walk away.

"Well this is a interesting situation." Creampaw told them. "Are we technically prisoners? Or guests? Or something else?"

"I don't know." Pinepaw's replied. "But we need to leave soon."

"Oh you wont be leaving with that blizzard out there." The gray speckled she cat know as 'Rain' spoke." I've had to carry frozen over tribemate's myself." She let out a sigh. "You should consider yourself lucky that Screech had found you on his way back here." She now looked forward, now keeping her eyes focused on the area in front of the area the three were staying.

What felt like a full day only took moments, as a dark ginger she cat along with a light brown she cat came along.

"Follow us newcomers." The ginger she cat said, with authority in her voice. "The Stoneteller requests to speak with you."

Firepaw nodded, and was the first to get up and walk towards her. Pinepaw soon followed along with Creampaw.

As they followed behind the two cats, they couldn't help but notice all the other cats looking at them. Some of which were older than they were, and some of which were younger. It wasn't long before they were in the prescreens of a dark gray tom, who looked just as old as Bramblestar, if not older.

"What brings you to our mountain?" The Stoneteller asked, looking at the three of them. "Why are you three not with your clan?"

_Stormfur must've told the Stoneteller what her found out about us. _"We are here, passing through, searching for one of our clanmate's." He said, now looking at the Stoneteller. He was really nervous, talking to a cat of different authority and such. "We were passing through, hoping to find him faster."

"Hm." The Stoneteller simply let out a response of thought. "Well once the Blizzard has passed, you will be permitted to leave." He replied. "But for now you will be watched over by Stormfur and Brook." He now looked at the two cats behind them. "Moss, Swoop, fetch Brook and Stormfur." The cats known as Moss and Swoop nodded, heading to retrieve them.

The Stoneteller's look just seemed to melt into them, his hardened stare showed that his authority was final, but there was also something else. Something different about this cat that made him different from the leaders at the clans. It was also very hard not to notice that he smelled of herbs. But Firepaw also thought. _What does the Stoneteller think of us?_

"Here they are." The cat named Swoop said, with Brook and Stormfur beside them.

"Thank you Swoop." The Stoneteller said, with a smile on his face. But as quickly as the smile was on his face, it was gone. "Now Brook and Stormfur, if these three have any questions, you can answer it for them, and once the blizzard is over, lead them to the edge of the territory, so they can get on with their business."

Brook and Stormfur both nodded. "Now all of you go." The Stoneteller said, calmly, as he turned around, and began to look at a pool of water.

The two cats that had brought them to the Stoneteller soon stopped outside where he was, as if they were guarding it.

"Hello." The cat next to Stormfur said. _Her name is Brook_. Firepaw told himself, as the Stoneteller had mentioned it. "It is nice to meet you three. I am Brook where the Small Fish Swim, or Brook for short. I am also Stormfur's mate." She looked at Stormfur with a smile on her face. Stormfur returned a smile towards her, but then looked at the three apprentice's.

"I bet you three have some questions." He said. "Trust me, I did when I first came here."

"Why are you here?" Creampaw asked. "Why did you leave Riverclan to join this group?"

Stormfur looked at Creampaw. "Well I joined the Tribe because after I had came back with the cats who made the trip to find the lake, and we were leading the clans to that lake, I remembered my sister, her name was Feathertail. I remembered how she sacrificed herself to save the Tribe, and I felt I needed to stay." He now looked at Brook. "There also was a certain she cat here that I would love to spend the rest of my life with here too." Brook gave a chuckle of embarrassment and affection.

"And what about roles?" Firepaw asked, questioned with the way cats worked and lived here.

"Ah well all cats here are assigned their role at birth." Brook said. "There are the To-be's, whom are the trainees, there are Prey-Hunter's, Cave-Guards, and The Teller of the Pointed Stones." Brook said. "Prey-Hunter's hunt, Cave-guards guard Prey-Hunters on a hunt, and guard the Cave of Rushing water, and then the Teller of the Pointed Stones is a Healer and our leader. They will always guide us through times of ease or challenge." She now looked towards the cave that the Stoneteller was in. "There is the usually only one way to be chosen as a Stoneteller, and that's at birth, but for the Stoneteller you just met, he was appointed." She now looked at those three. "Over there are the Cave-guard and the Prey-Hunter Nests, and bit to the left are the To-Be's nests."

Firepaw couldn't help but notice how close the nests were to each other, but still, it must've grew a bigger bond between the To-Be's and their mentors.

"Well it is quite late, and there are no To-Be's at the time, so you might as well sleep in the To-Be's nest for the time." Stormfur suggested.

The three nodded as they walked over to the To-Be's nest. "Well that was interesting." Pinepaw said, looking at them. "Well we should get some rest."

"I agree." Firepaw said, not waiting to curl up and shut his eye. _I wonder what is in store for the next day… and I wonder what Icefang is up too…_

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_**Well here you have it, another completed chapter of A Heart So Cold. I cant believe im upcoming on the 30th chapter! Make sure to check out my Side Project that occurs in a alt universe from this Story arc's. Just remember to review for ideas and support, favorite or follow story if you like it, and follow and favorite me if you want to see more stories by me :3**_

_**Talon out!**_


	27. XXVII: The City

**The City**

**Hello all! Sorry for not posting recently! I have to study for Honors and AP classes often so I don't fail! Well here is the new chapter!**

**Lt Lucario: Great to see you're enjoying it! Hope you enjoy this chapter too.**

**Stormcloud: Yep! 200 reviews! I'm amazed that this story has that many reviews!**

**Broken: Thank you for the support, and I will take that name into consideration…**

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The black tom continued to walk on the black street, rain pouring on his back. He was exhausted once again, and was tired, the same feelings he felt when he was traveling here in the first place, and being wet didn't help at all. Sometimes he wondered why he listened to the voice that embodied Scourge. Maybe it was because he seemed to be the only one who was right most of the time. _Or maybe I am your only friend. _His voice spoke, startling him.

Putting his head down now, he took a deep breath, seeing the wet floor move as he walked. _How much farther? _Raising his head, he could now see tall dens, lit up compared to the dark gray sky. Monsters were sleeping on the side of the Thunderpath. _Is this it? _He asked himself. _Did I finally reach it? _He took a deep breath now, slowly walking, to what seemed like a twoleg den that looked red, with white lines on it. _Maybe I could rest there for a bit, and continue walking… _He looked at it. After a moment of contemplation, he walked into it, seeing things that look like so soft… but they couldn't be as soft as those nests he had in the Cutter's. He walked up, which smelled sort of musty. _No cat must've been here for moons! _He decided to lie down in a pile that looked less soggy, and closed his eyes. Of course, the musty scent was flowing into his nose, but it didn't matter, as he slowly fell into a deep sleep.

He woke up to water dripping on his head, and he then saw a cat standing right in front of him. This cat was lithe, grey, and had a black collar on.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned Icefang. He could see that this cat was unhappy with his presence.

"I'm here because I choose to be here." He answered boldly. "I'm here because I need to sleep, and if you think there is something wrong with that, do something bout it."

This cats face, the hostility in his body motions slowly dissipated, as he began to smile. "I like your style kiddo. I'm Saw, what would your name happen to be?"

"Fang." Icefang replied, observing this cat. He swore this cat looked too familiar for his liking.

"Fang huh?" He questionably said. "Well I have something that needs to done, and if you help out, ill be willing to share some food with you." He had a wolfish grin that Icefang did not appreciate. "I know it may be weird asking an outsider for help, but I want to see if your material for here."

"What would said job be?" Icefang asked slowly, knowing that this cat would not ask for something easy if he was offering food.

"Well you see, at one of the dumpsters there is a little rat problem." He began. "The lot of us get food from those dumpsters, and with those rats, we won't be able to eat." He now looked at Icefang. "But rats are dangerous and facing them alone would be certain death, but that is why I arranged for a little bit of help against these rats… you think you up for the task?"

_Control the food, you control the cats. You control the cats, you control their minds. You control their minds, you control their actions. You control their actions, you become their leader. _Scourge's voice rang in the side of his ear. _Power is important._

Icefang thought for a moment. _Power… _"I can handle anything you throw at me." He said with confidence. "I'll join you on this… job."

"Excellent!" Saw looked at Icefang with a grin. "Just follow me."

Cautiously, Icefang followed this strange cat. He smelled of crowfood, yet his ribs showed. _This place must be lacking of food if they have to fight rats for it… _He told himself.

_More than you image Icefang. _Scourge told him, this voice being as loud as a whisper.

Icefang looked down at the ground and he could see the colored stone, with colored markings on the Thunderpath. He looked to the left, and saw some cats looking through piles of rubbish, and some of which were fighting against each other for the food.

He now looked at this lithe grey tom, to in front of him, six different cats. One of the cats was a full brown, with amber eyes, another was black with white splotches on their pelt, another was a full coat of white with scars covering his pelt, another was silver missing an eye, to the left of that cat was a dark ginger cat with stripes on his back, and the last seemed to be the smallest of the six, who was a pale grey with bright yellow eyes.

"Whose the kittypet?" The cat that was missing an eye asked. From the voice, it was obvious that this cat was a tom.

Icefang felt somewhat offended, being mistaken for a kittypet. "What good would it be to bring in a kittypet to help?" The dark ginger one's voice sounded very light, implying this cat was a she cat.

"This is no ordinary cat Claire and Stone." Saw told them looking back at Icefang. "See these scars." All of them turned towards Icefang, to see his pelt littered with scars. "I have never seen any cat with these many scars on them and live." He now looked back at the group of cats. "He could very well be the Cold we've been searching for!"

"Oh please stop with your fantasy with finding the 'Cold." Saw." The white cat that sounded like a she cat spoke. "Your mother died in an attempt to find the cold, whatever that meant."

_The cold? _Icefang thought for a moment, and then remembered from his one dream. _The cold is getting stronger… _Was it supposed to mean him?

"The cold?" Icefang just had to ask.

"Yes the cold!" Saw looked at Icefang, just to see the belief in his eyes. "The cold is supposed to return order to the city!"

"Don't listen to Saw, he's always been a bit stupid." The cat with black and white splotches spoke. "I'm Splotches and I have only one question for you, do you know how to fight?"

"I do know how to fight." Icefang told him.

"Good." Splotches said. "You'll be needing all the luck and skill you have to win this."

"I lost this eye due to the rats, torn straight out of the socket." Stone told him, pointing his tail towards his eye. "It was the single most painful experience."

"Well gets fight some rats then!" The smallest one said with eagerness, despite Stone's words. She seemed too eager to fight such dangerous creatures.

"Calm down Youngster." Said the brown tom. "After all, you could die from this."

"Well then I won't Hickory." She said with a smile. This pale grey she cat seemed to be under the watch of Hickory, or so he inferred.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" Saw asked, and every cat there seemed to be ready. "Lets go."

They began to walk to the area where these rats seemed to be residing. It was quiet all of a sudden, no one spoke, nor did anyone make a sound while walking either. All Icefang could assume was that they were attempting not to alert the rats early.

"Hickory, take point." Saw said, and Hickory nodded. _These cats seemed to respect Saw enough to listen to him. _

Of course, Hickory walked forward and saw nothing. This place was dark though, and it was difficult to see anything.

"It loo-" A yowl erupted from Hickory, as a singular rat had bit his leg. In response, Hickory bit the rat off, making sure to kill it before dropping it out of his jaws. "They're here!"

Icefang could see blood welling at Hickory's leg, as the rat had bit deep. Hickory limped back quickly, as the rats began to swarm out of the so called "dumpster".

"Fall back!" Saw said, just for them to turn to see rats also blocking the way out.

"We're surrounded!" Claire let out a panicked shriek. "This is not how I want to go!"

"None of us are going to die!" Saw yowled, though every cat could hear the doubt in his voice. "We just have to fight!"

Icefang sound felt the all to familiar rush of battle. His claws extended, and he stood in a stance of defense.

Swipe after Swipe, rats were gutted, battered away, but there seemed to be no end to these rats. Wave after wave, they continued to leap at them.

Some of the cats, such as Hickory, Youngster, Claire, and Splotches yowled in pain, as these rat claws seemed to be as sharp as any other cat's claws. "They're to many of them!" Claire yowled, slashing another rat down.

"Tell us something we don't know!" Snowball yowled, blood of the rat's getting on her white paws.

"Hickory no!" Icefang turned to see a horrified Youngster attempted to kill the rats that are overcoming Hickory. These rats seemed to cling onto fur as if it they were sap. Her attempts were all in vain as one of the rats bit into Hickory's throat, causing the blood to ooze in a rapid manner.

Icefang had no choice but to pull Youngster away from Hickory, or she too may be facing the same fate. All Icefang could see is the rats picking at the tom's body, removing flesh at a rapid rate due to the shear number of them. _Is there no end to them? _He couldn't help but wonder.

Icefang, like the rest of them, continued to hack and slash at the hordes of rats. It wasn't long before there was a noticeable difference in the horde of the rats.

"I think we're winning." A voice of confidence spoke. It sounded like Snowball. "Oh rat you think you can escape!" She pounced for it.

Icefang turn to see the fatal error in which Snowball had fallen into. She was now separated and surrounded.

First the rats bit into Snowball's hind leg, causing her to let out a yowl of pain. Next was another bit to the front leg, causing her to fall. Then this is where the pain could be visible seen and felt. The rats began to bite at her face. That was when his sense of helplessness grew. She was basically being eaten alive. Her once white pelt soon was coated with her blood as these… these savages ripped her to shreds.

"Snowball NO!" What sounded like Stone yowled in grief.

Icefang had never felt so… terrified for his own well-being. What these rats could do to cats was absurd, how they could kill cats in mere seconds. Then he felt himself get bit in the paw. Natural reflex's made him bit the rat, killing it easily.

The open wound had the blood oozing out.

It was happening. He felt a grin stretch across his face, and his irises get narrow. He was being controlled.

He felt himself slashing, but with much more ferocity in each swipe. Soon enough he could see the rats starting to disperse from this sudden change of swipes.

"I think they are finally gone." Saw said. Of course this was wrong, as the largest rat they had ever seen came as the smaller ones left. This rat had the biggest teeth that looked like it could snap a cat's leg in two.

Of course, he was terrified, but he had no control as he saw what his other half was doing to this giant rat, as if he knew what he was doing.

He jumped onto the rat's back, causing it to become pinned. Of course, due to its size, it was putting up a fight, not allowing him to get a steady killing bite.

"Slash at its sides!" He heard himself say as Claire and Splotch started to slash at its side. Youngster went behind it, slashing its tail into two, causing it to become more violent. It wasn't long before it exhausted its energy, causing it to stop failing around. This was his chance. He thrusted his head into the back of the rats neck, and with all of his strength, he pulled back, causing the bone to come out of the flesh. The rat let out a high pitch squeal before dying.

_Now Ill be taking control soon… _Icefang told himself.

_Not on my watch you won't. _Scourge told him. _You have had to many chances in your life to ruin yourself, now its my turn to make change. _

Icefang saw himself ripping the big tooth of the rat out of its jaw. Soon it was jabbed through the collar, sticking it through. "This was a strong victory, and sets out a new foundation!" He heard himself talk, though it was not really him.

"A rebirth for what?" Saw asked, with a grin on his face.

"A rebirth of a former empire, a rebirth of unity, I will lead it, and Saw, you will be my second in command."

He felt his head turn towards the other four cats that were mourning the death of their friends, sitting beside the mutilated corpses of Hickory and Snowball. "Though we have lost two, those I did not really know, they fought valiantly and shall not be forgotten."

_These words seem… empty. _Icefang told himself.

"What is the rebirth Fang?" Saw asked.

"The rebirth..." He said. "The rebirth for Bloodclan!"

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**Well there you have it! Chapter 27 was fun to write, and i cannot wait to start gaining way on chapter 28 :3 I would say this story would possible have 13 more chapters, maybe more, maybe less.**

**If you enjoyed this story, make sure to leave a review, but if you love it, follow it, and please feel free to add this story to your communities if you so desire too.**

**Talon is out!**


	28. XXVIII: To Rise, To Lead, To Conquer

**To Rise, To Lead, To Conquer**

**Sorry for not posting in a long time but here is the chapter. Time to review the reviews! *If i dont have much to say its late at night**

**Flamepelt: Yep**

**Solomon7: This chapter should explain a bit**

**Crazychessgurl: Yes, it does, but i have an idea in which direction im heading in.**

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_It had been too long since I had a body. It had been too long since I took a breath of my own. It had been too long since I felt the blood rush coarsely through my veins. It had been too long since I had collected my trophies and spill my enemies blood. All the more rewarding now than it was before. _A grin grew on his face.

He opened his eyes, realizing he had dozed off whilst waiting for Saw or even stone to come back from their recruitment and scouting. He only came along when another group of cats refused. Coming along did have its risks but also had its rewards.

Now sitting up, he could feel the teeth and claws piercing through the collar he wore press against his neck. With every tooth, every claw, gave him more authority to him, and drove fear deeper into those who defied him.

Many loners, and even groups of cats had wished to challenge him to take control if what he and his comrades had built up, but all who challenged were unsuccessful. _They all… ALL underestimated me because of my size. _He knew he was comparable smaller, as in his first life. _They may now know me as Fang, but to those listened to the kit tales from their days with their mothers know every bit of my former self._

He took another deep breath, looking at his claw extensions. _These cat tooth claws fit better and more conformably then the temporary rat tooth claws. _Scourge couldn't lie about the rat tooth claw extensions looking much more intimidating then the cat tooth extensions, but the rat tooth extensions had a chance of being suck into the enemy, and they took time to make them fit properly to begin with.

He smiled how he clayed opened that Tigerstar so many years ago, but only wished to kill that organ tom as well, but now that was out of his reach as Firestar was now dead. Scourge put his tail over where the killing blow had been dealt. _If only if only i could sink my claws into that ginger tom's throat as he did to me._

This was all beside the point, as living in the past would give him no benefits. The lithe grey cat known as Saw got closer to him. When they had taken this dumpster, not only had they found food, but found collars in abundance, some worn, some new, but from the four who had fought against the horde of rats, Saw seemed to be most enthusiastic slaying his enemies as much as he did.

"Fang." Saw approached, dipping his head in respect. Saw was maybe one of the only few that truly respected him. "We located another dumpster, with a resupplying food source."

Scourge nodded, soon raising his paw to lookat his claw extensions.. "Any resistance?"

"No." Saw simply told him. "You want me to send a battle patrol?"

Scourge had to think for a second. Did he want to send some of his warriors to what could be a trap. It wasn't his life a risk for the most part. "Send five cats."

"At once Fang!" Saw scampered off to get the able bodied cats to do so. Scourge could say he was quite impressed with this cat's enthusiasm since Bone himself was not as enthusiastic.

Stretching now, he got up, jumping off the dumpster. _Might as well go for a walk… _It was quite a nice day, and quite quiet at that.

Youngster was standing with Splotches in front of the alleyway, acting as guards, and only hiding when the twolegs came along. Youngster chose to keep her name as it was since Hickory died, and Splotches splotches had scars on them, so he felt it was apportite to keep his name.

He waited until saw returned. When he went on walks, he never went along, as there are many cats that would love to ambush him.

"Saw." He began. "Let us go on a walk and discuss topics."

"Aye." Saw began to trail him until he was right beside him.

The beginning of the walk was silent, as Scourge had many thoughts, and was not the cat to start discussions. _What do I do with this "Icefang"? He has been silent on the surface, but still pesters me in my dreams. _Icefang wasn't completely useless to him as he provided him a vessel to thrive in, and some basic knowledge of healing, which came quite in handy when hurt. Of course the real problem was that Icefang was weak. He had no real heart to kill, and he was in love as well. Love is weakness. It gave enemies something to use aganst him, as proven with the rouges back then, and that was the only cat he killed himself.

"Two months it took us to build this rebuilt clan from the ground up." Saw looked at him. "I would've never guessed."

"Yes." Scourge said calmly. "But I fear we may face the same problem as our predecessors did."

Saw looked at him with concern. "And that problem might be?" His eyes soon had the realization. "A growing clan needs food."

Scourge nodded. "Its only a matter of time."

"Then Ill start sending scouts for a new source of food for all of us." Saw stated. "If we can control more dumpster we will have more food to control the hungry."

Scourge was about to nod when he remembered where he was for the time he spent with Icefang. "That may not be necessary." A wolfish smile grew on his face.

"What do you mean?" Saw asked, looking at the smile Scourge had, confused.

"I know a place we can take, but…" He paused for a moment. "We would have to fight for it.

"Would it be worth it?" Saw asked, looking at him, with the want for fight in his eyes.

"More than likely." He told him. "It could feed more cats than us." Scourge looked at him. "We would need to train and recruit more cats."

"And those who die don't eat." Saw said with a smile.

"Exactly." He began to walk again. "We will be able to grow, to thrive, and nothing will stand in our way." _And now, I know to take extreme caution around leaders. _

"When should we attack?" Saw asked. His hunger for another battle could not be sated ever since the rats, and the possibility to add trophies to his collar.

"We will attack in the coming months eager killer."

Continuing forward, he looked to the left seeing three cats. They had collars, but not as heavily studded as his or Saw's, but never the less, they were cats under his command.

One of them was missing an eye, another was scarred from the pelt down, and the last one seemed to be young, and was shivering, more than likely in fear, and his pelt was only studded with three noticeable teeth.

This could only make him grin. This feeling of power, and the control of others lives in his paws made him feel huge, yet he was small.

As he walked by, they dipped their heads, but not in respect, but in the want of their life. In a sense, it was respect, but the kind that was forced into their minds. _As long as they remain loyal to me, I will be fine and they will be fine as well._

As he walked back with Saw, there were she cats, none of which got to him, as he remember the last time he had gotten close to a she cat in his past life, and that alone was a one night stand. _They will try to reap the benefits of being a queen and they want to be my might. _He snorted at them and proceeded to walk by. Saw followed by example and did no such thing to get close to them.

At last, they reached the alleyway they had begun their walk at. Two of the first members aside from the four from the first battle that began Neo-Bloodclan were guarding the alleyway. They sat up straight as he walked by.

They said nothing, and their gaze remained straight as he breezed past them.

"So we will start the planning for this conquest when?" Saw asked.

"At noon tomorrow." He simply began to curl up, and closed his eyes.

For a moment there was silence. Peace at mind. Then came the part he wanted to get rid of.

"_You cant keep me trapped in your head." Icefang kept his voice calm, and sat up straight with his eyes closed._

"_Oh I can, but I simply don't want you here either." Scourge growled. "But I need you."_

"_Why?" Icefang sat still, sitting still as a calm stream untouched by anything. "I have nothing left to offer."_

"_Oh yes you do." He gritted his teeth. How he hated talking to this Icefang. "You spirit is bounded to this body, and if I was to say gut your essence open, I risk the chance of gutting your body, and that would be unpleasant for the both of us now would it. It would put a damper on all of my plans in the living world.."_

_Icefang did not move, and remained silent. Scourge knew Icefang's entire life story, and he could see all of this was possible due to his actions. The only real thing that seemed to creep him out was when they both spoke face to face was it was like talking to his own reflection, just with a different response._

"_Why?" Icefang finally spoke, opening his eyes to reveal the pale blue eyes. _

"_Why what?" Scourge seemed confused, yet kept his aggressive stance._

"_Why are you going to take the lake?"_

"_Why?" Scourge looked at Icefang. "To end the suffering of those here." He lashed his tail. "To end the famine for all the cats I lead."_

"_But at what cost?" Icefang spoke ever so softly, still not moving. "Have you ever considered that you would cause more suffering to those who live there?" Have you considered that your actions will cause the death of your own followers?"_

"_Suffering is only temporary, all wounds heal." Scourge now turned around and licked his paw. "But to cause someone else to suffer for the better is always better."_

_Icefang shook his head. "I wish I realized you where just leading me off the path of wisdom." He now closed his eyes. "I just sit here and meditate now because I can't do anything else now."_

"_Well I let you use my superior combat skills, and let you see my own memories, so it's my time to take advantage of you." A wolfish grin erupted on his face. "After all it was all for the benifiets._

_Icefang simply exhaled. "I do believe we have nothing more to speak about." Icefang now lashed his tail dismissively._

_Scourge growled, knowing he hated being dismissed, especially by someone he couldn't harm. Aside from that, this was as cold as his voice got. "I couldn't agree more." Scourge turned around and began to walk away, slowly fading back to_ reality. _How dare he do that! He thought to himself now walking away. I would love to sink my claws into his flesh, but that may be a dream i may never achieve._

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_**Well there you have it! Another chapter done! Well I Hoped you enjoyed it and please check out my poll on my profile regarding Unbroken.**_

_**Talon is out!**_


	29. XXIX:Inside My Mind

**Inside my Mind**

**Hey readers, new and old, I'm sorry for going on a hiatus for like two months, life hit me like a train but now I'm back. Lets get into this new chapter straight away!**

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It had been too long since I had control of my own body. It had been too long since I felt the wind brush up on my pelt. It had been too long since I felt the light rainfall, and the rainwater touch my paws. It had been too long since I had ate a piece of prey, or seen my love.

Icefang sat with his eyes closed most of the time, pondering his thoughts, and usually try to dream about what could've been, instead of what is. There was one problem with that as well, his body is shared with Scourge's soul, so Scourge's dreams came to him as well, and both of them conflicted for the most part.

Icefangs dreams were mainly about his home. He dreamed about sleeping happily in his moss nest in the warrior's den. He dreamed about being around people who cared about him. He dreamed about hunting in the forest territory of Thunderclan, and the soft ground. He dreamed about being with his love once more. Scourge though, had vile dreams. Scourge dreamed about the simple things that came with leadership, how to expand his power. Scourge dreamed about how to kill his enemies faster, and with that came how to control others quicker. Scourge dreamed of being accepted though, but through power, to hope that those he control would start to respect him after their fear. Scourge dreamed that they would see why he did was right all along.

Icefang could see all the lives that Scourge had taken away flash in his mind. The lives that did not bother him as much were the cats of the Dark Forest, as they deserved to be there for their actions in life. But what did bother him were the lives of those who still lived. Salmonstream and Volestep who were once warriors of their respective clans, had their lives ended by the claws of Scourge, and were cats that could change, but never could. Those lives were taken away under the influence of Scourge, but there was one life that was taken away under his own influence, and it was that one tom that attacked Pinepaw. Sure he never got to know him, and it was the best option at the time, since they were hostile, but he freely chose to kill them. The life they worked on was swiftly taken away by the one strike he made. Every time he thought of a life Scourge had taken away, he could only think of the life he had taken away. He horror in that tom's eyes, the fear that laced his voice, and the sound of him drowning on his own blood. It made him shiver.

"What kind of monster am I?" His breathing lost its steadiness as he scrunched his eyes harder.

"You're not the real monster." A voice had spoken. He knew this voice belonged to the black tom with the bone-lined collar.

"What wisdom could you give me about this?" Icefang sounded sarcastic.

"Of course I can." The tom spoke with the most seriousness. "You may know me as Elder, as told from your father." He took a deep breath as his eyes had the glow of the stars. "You forget I was once a killer."

Icefang opened his eyes and looked at him. "I did." He sighed now. "I'm just in my own mind right now, self centered at the moment."

Elder seemed to smile. "Well you seem conflicted, but not to fear, we were all self centered at one point in our lives." Elders smile slowly grew smaller, and then he looked away. "Well there is not much I can do to change the past, but there is much I can do to change the future." He looked at him. "You want to know something Icefang?"

"Not like I have much choice." Icefang was still sitting.

"When I was a member of the Original Bloodclan, we learned it was that you killed, or you were killed." He looked at him. "But you know what happened after the final battle of Bloodclan, we were killed." He turned away, as memories had resurged in Elders mind. "But beside that, I went into a state of thought."

"Really?" Icefang closed his eyes again. "Tell me more about it."

"Well it had to do with my philosophy on life." Elder moved to sit next to Icefang. "To kill to avoid being killed, or to be killed not killing." He spoke slowly. "Why would I want to kill if it meant someone else was killed?" He looked straightforward now. "So I decided not to kill the next cat I met."

Icefang, though not showing it, was into this enthralling tale. "Then what?"

"Well then I slowly started to realize the value of life." He took a deep breath. "A thing not taught in Bloodclan was the value of one's life, and how it effected others." He smiled now. "I was just another cat in the world you live in today, and I told myself one thing every morning."

"What was that?" Icefang was more interested.

"Every life is important." He began. "I did not have the power to put this cat in life, so why should I take this life away?" He looked at Icefang. "This was the teaching of using violence as a last resort, and even then, violence should not kill the cat." He smiled. "Overall I felt like I had more power than ever, knowing instead of being a slave to killing others, I had the power to not kill another living cat."

Icefang nodded. "But what happens when a cat will not stop even when you have defeated them? What happens when a cat vows to kill even when defeated? Do you still let them live?"

Elder looked at him. "That is a question you have to answer yourself." He began to walk away. "Just remember you will have to live with the choice you decide in the end."

Before Icefang knew it, Elder had gone away, and he was all alone once again. But Icefang had a new look on his decision. _To kill is evil, but to kill an evil, would that make one more evil? _He sighed. _Maybe evil is something I should live with, maybe not…_

He looked down in a pool of water, through his own eyes, and thought he could see the reflection with Scourge's twisted smile, he could see the sadness and shame of his own.

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**Well there we go! This chapter is done, to give a bit of insight of what is going on with Icefang, and how he is taking his imprisonment in his own body! Review and favorite if you want to see more! I hope your day or night goes well along with your reading session!**

**Talon out!**


	30. XXX: They Reappear

**They Reappear**

**Hey all you readers! This will hopefully be posted before I go off somewhere for a week until the New Year After Christmas, but here it is! And thirty chapters! I never expected this story to be so long! Well here you go!**

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Scourge looked at his cats that lead beside him. Saw, the unlikely lithe tom that he first met in the city. How could he not reward the trust that Saw had put into him. Saw had also been an obedient follower, as well as a good leader in the cases he was in charge. There was a new comer though, that had proven their strength to them, proving them a possible successor to NeoBloodclan. It was a grey-striped black she cat named Shadow, who came to them with a grey empty collar, wishing to join. He remembered the first day he met Shadow, and how she was a shy cat by personality, but a rather fierce fighter by heart. She easily pinned Saw, but didn't kill him due to his own order, and him accepting her. It was then when she started to prove herself, climbing the ranks of NeoBloodclan.

Scourge trusted these two cats with the future of NeoBloodclan, willing to hand them the leadership so that NeoBloodclan should live on. Shadow and Saw both knew the plans to take the lake, and what to those that surrender, and what to do with the leaders if they surrender themselves to the supreme authority of NeoBloodclan.

He trusted them enough to put them in charge of leading two assaults on the lake. He and Shadow would lead one group to Windclan's and Thunderclan's territories, killing those who resisted, and Saw's group would fight their way through Riverclan's and Shadowclan's territories doing the same. The day was set to launch the full assault would be the full moon, where they could catch the leaders off guard, lightly defended, to kill them. Only then would the clans shortly fall once their leaders were killed.

There of course was only one cat that could put all of this hard work and planning to rubble by the one inside his mind. Icefang. Though he had been silent for a while now, and seemed to have vanished from the regular routine of harassing him in his dreams. This made Scourge uneasy, but he kept it hidden within. He had to remain calm for his sake, and the sake of NeoBloodclan.

Continuing the note of NeoBloodclan, Shadow helped in conversion of the followers that feared him to those who revered him as a leader instead of a tyrant. This eased Scourge for it prevented the threat of retaliation of the cats in his armies and made ordering his cats easier. Of course, the threat of famine was quite noticeable to the growing NeoBloodclan warriors, and stressed that this plan to conquer was the only way to end it.

NeoBloodclan could be considered an equal to the clans in terms of structure, but the only difference was that he himself did not have the nine lives advantage as their leaders did, but this time he knew to take caution around their leaders. Nor did he have the advantage of any medicine cats to heal his cats if they were to get wounded. Hopefully if all went well, he would be able to imprison them and force them to work for his cats.

He knew Icefang had family in the clans, but what did it matter? The only blood that mattered to him was that of which flowed out of his enemies bodies, and those happened to be those at the clans. If this were successful, maybe Icefang would slowly fade away until he was just a vague memory, and just hand over this body. But he could not deny the existence of Starclan, and was familiar that all leaders derived their powers from there, and if Tigerstar, a cat of cruel proportions, could receive nine lives, why not he?

Getting on his paws now, he jumped down the dumpster, and began to walk through the streets of NeoBloodclan. He knew none of these cats would dare to attempt to kill him, but even if they dared, they would be gutted like those he had killed with Icefang in the Dark Forest. He continued to walk, seeing cats training with each other, some toms, and other she cats. He then, also remembered the one she cat who claimed to have given birth to a kit that was supposedly his son, and wondered if that kit was still alive, or died in the first battle against the clans. Of course none of this mattered since this was all in the past, and the future of NeoBloodclan was important, and the future of his leadership was important as well.

Continuing to walk through the streets of NeoBloodclan, avoiding twolegs at all costs, as twoleg capture would ruin all his plans he had created for the eventual victory of NeoBloodclan. Claiming that the battle would end in victory would cause some cats to call him overconfident, but he considered himself prepared for the battle. He had been waiting for this chance for the longest, and it was worth the wait. Though the fastest warrior may get the first blow, the patient warrior deals the most serve one.

The clans would fall this time, and it would all be thanks to Icefang. Icefang allowed him to learn how the clans operated from the inside, learned what the warriors had to go through, what kind of training, their battle strategies too. There was a cost with learning all this knowledge as well, since Icefang had acquired some feelings for the apprentice named Pinepaw. He had friends in Thunderclan and even Windclan, and this was a problem for multiple reasons, as these were all signs of weakness.

Weakness was the only thing that could lead to the downfall of him. Weakness was the only thing that could lead to the downfall of NeoBloodclan. Weakness was the only thing that could lead—

"Icefang!" A name that he had not been called by for a while. The voice brought back so many memories. Memories of weakness!

He turned slowly to see three figures. One was a brown tortoiseshell she-cat, another was a ginger tom, almost a spitting mirror of the one who killed him so many years ago, and the last was a creamy white she-cat.

The ginger tom and the creamy white she cat seemed to flinch at his new appearance, but the brown tortoiseshell seemed to hold her expression. It seemed that the fire colored tom was talking to the brown she cat, who seemed to nod cautiously.

"What do you want?" He spoke coldly, making it clear he wanted no affiliation with her.

Those words seemed to cause her to flinch as if claws struck her. "Don't you remember me Icefang?" She sounded worried. "Don't you remember all the good times we had together?"

He remained silent, the memories of Icefang flooding back into his head. All the joyful times… _NO! _Scourge immediately snapped back to reality. "No." He once again said coldly, attempting to forget what has been remembered.

She seemed taken aback yet again, but she was still determined to speak to him. "One of the scars on your face was one dealt by me, when I found out," She told him, "you remember that right?"

Scourge's mind once again flooded with memories that weren't his. The meetings at night with the dashingly nice she cat named Spottedwind… _THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN! _He once again snapped himself back to the present that he was living in. "I don't remember that." His emotionless voice spoke.

She got closer now. "You remember the Dark Forest… right?" Her voice was cracking up now.

Once again, his mind flooded with those dark memories. Pinepaw was taken by that fox heart Clawpelt, and threatened to kill her along with Breezepelt… _NO! _He snapped back to reality. He could feel another presence now, slowly getting stronger with each memory. "What's the Dark Forest?" He lied about its existence.

She soon buried her head into the side of his pelt. "You must remember something…" Her voice was no louder than a whisper.

"I don't." He angrily said now, soon pulling away from Pinepaw. "Now leave." A growl erupted from him.

"But—" She was soon cut off by him grabbing her by the scruff, throwing her to her back.

"Pinepaw!" The ginger tom he remembered as Firepaw yowled, starting to head her way.

Slowly getting up, she looked at Firepaw. "Stay back!" She had fear in her voice, but not for her own life but the life of her friend.

"Leave, or I'll kill you." His voice now quivered. Something that never happened with his threats… there was something more in him than he thought.

She was shaking now, but held her ground. "Icefang," Her voice was quivering with sadness. "I know you are there."

With a frustrated growl, he lifted his paw, and his reinforced claws showed. His paw was now shaking, not with hesitation from him, no; it was the hesitation of some other cat. _Icefang! _It was the only logical cat that could be interfering.

_You have been in control for too long Scourge. _The voice of Icefang ringed in his ears. _You may have rebuild Bloodclan, but I will never allow you to kill Pinepaw while I still breath!_

Scourge started to notice that his body was now shaking, his left eye was starting to blur up, from a tear forming, his irises slowly became wider, and a mind splitting pain began.

_It is time to take back what is rightfully mine! _Icefang's confident voice remained calm as the pain became sharper and sharper every second his paw did not slice through Pinepaw.

"NO!" He yowled at the top of his lungs, soon falling to the ground, passing out from the pain he felt physically and mentally.

He soon woke up, in a grassy patch, and saw the cats that caused him this pain. He attempted to get up, but to no success. It soon occurred to him that he could no longer feel his legs, or tail, and that was when it hit him. He was no longer in control.

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Icefang opened his eyes, to see the all too familiar brown pelt of Pinepaw. Her green eyes seemed to look at him with happiness. "You're back." There was a smile on her face.

He blinked his eyes harder, as if he didn't know what was going on.

"Hey Firepaw!" Creampaw called out to the ginger tom. "Get over here."

The ginger tom soon walked over to him. "Ah you're awake." Firepaw looked down at him. "I see you have a new sense of… fashion."

"Save it for later Firepaw." He rolled his eyes, soon shivering." He couldn't remember half of the things that occurred to him while Scourge was in control. There was one thing that he did remember. The battle plans to take the lake.

"We need to get back to the clans!" He got up, soon collapsing back down.

"Take it easy." Pinepaw told him. "We will get you back there soon enough." She took a deep breath. "But for now, you need to rest."

He shook his head. "This is important!" He coughed, forgetting that he had the bone studded collar on. "There's a new Bloodclan!"

"A new Bloodclan?" Firepaw seemed confused. "What are you talking about?"

Ignoring Firepaw's question, he looked in the general direction of the lake. "We need to get to Bramblestar, or to some leader!"

"Why?" Firepaw asked again. "We can't help unless we know the full story of it."

Creampaw nodded. "Can you explain about this new Bloodclan and why we need to get back to the lake quickly?"

"The twoleg rouges!" He took a deep breath. "They are going to try to take the lake!"

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**Well there you go! The thirtieth chapter now done! I never expected to get this far with the story, nor did I expect to get so many reviews, and never expected this story to get so much positive (and a bit of negative) feedback! Thank you for reading, and it brings me great pleasure to have created and posted this chapter!**

**You readers have made my Fanfictioning enjoyable and I hope to read some great fics in the future!**

**Talon is out!**


	31. XXXI: The Questions

**The Questions**

**Hey all you who have read or just happen to read this far into AHSC! Here is a new chapter of AHSC and if you want to know what are my Fanfiction ideas for this year are (if you haven't already seen them on Unbroken Remastered), I plan on finishing up this story and Unbroken Remastered (Hopefully before May and less than 51 chapters for AHSC), Finish TJPWR (Hopefully no greater than 30 chapters), and start two new projects, one of which is the SolXHolly story donated to me by my dear friend Owenstarr, and my own Original Story, with a cast of characters that I am currently developing called "Project NONY (No Official Name Yet)" which will more than likely be an OC story, so if you want, donate OC's via PM!**

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"You definitely need to rest." Firepaw beckoned his tail downwards. "You've been gone for a while."

"No!" Icefang told Firepaw, with minor aggression in his eyes. "Resting is waiting, and waiting longer means the clans are in more danger!" Icefang was not about to let more cats get harmed for his mistakes.

"How?" Creampaw looked at him as if she were doubting him. "The clans have a lot of warriors, even if they were in danger, it couldn't be anything to dangerous for them to handle."

Icefang shook his head. "It is too much for them to handle." Icefang didn't understand what part of what he was saying was difficult to understand. "Some monster inside me," He stopped for a moment to take a deep breath, due to the collars restrain around his neck, "revealed the secrets of the clans, about medicine cats, leaders, and how they have multiple lives." He coughed now, and shook his head. "I tried to keep this knowledge away, but this monster just used it."

The three of them were silent, just staring at Icefang. They probably thinking the same thing as he was. _How could he?_

"Well." Firepaw's sky blue eyes seemed to be looking around now. "I can now see why the clans might be in danger."

Icefang nodded. "Now, can someone help me get this collar off?"

Pinepaw the first to offer her help, but when she tried to light bite it off, it refused to break, and the teeth inside of it made it quite difficult for her to get her face close to it.

Next was Firepaw who tried to use his claws, but to no success, nearly taking one of his claws with it. Still he did not give up, and attempted to pull it, immediately stopped when Icefang started to cough due to the lack of air.

"Well looks like that's not coming off." Creampaw licked her paws. "Well, maybe one of the warriors can get it off when we return to the clans."

Icefang growled lightly. It was frustrating that he would be stuck wearing this dreaded collar longer than he would want too. "Well let us get a move on." He got up once again, this time, managing to stay up. "Time won't wait for us."

The four of them got walking, usually steering clear of the Thunderpath, due to occasional monster passing by. Of course, it wasn't long before the three of them began to bombard him with questions about what he did during the time of his exile and his experiences. For a lack of better words, this time could be considered the opposite of good.

"What went on while you were in the twoleg-place?" Creampaw had asked him first.

He looked at her with a stern pair of eyes. "Oh nothing much, just the rebuilding of a murderous organization." Of course, this sarcasm didn't fare well with her, but right now, he didn't care since he had been living in those horrid conditions. "Its really difficult to explain it when you have to worry if your going to die or not."

Firepaw now spoke up to ask his question. "What wanted to kill you?" He could tell there was slight confusion in his brother's voice.

"Oh just about everything." He looked back while still walking. "Monster's, other rouges, New Bloodclan conspirers attempting to usurp the leadership."

"You were the _leader_?" Pinepaw couldn't help but ask.

"Not a leader." His eyes rolled. "More like a puppet or a figure-head of sorts for the monster was controlling me." He really did not want to relive all the moments he COULD remember. After all, he was used as a method of murder, a method to strike fear, a method to bring harm upon others. "Let me just tell you that things were quite complicated."

Pinepaw gave him a simple nod, and did not ask any more questions. With but that still didn't stop the other two from not asking questions.

"So did you kill any cats?" Creampaw asked, interested about this topic.

Icefang stopped walking. This clearly hit a nerve for him. He knew the answer to that question as if it was the sun in the middle of the day. Out of everything he wished he could forget, the faces of those he killed would be one. Scourge was ruthless and killed anyone who defied him… even if they were innocent.

_Yet I turned a group of savages into a unified group. _Scourge's voice whispered. Icefang had completely forgotten that Scourge could simply peep into his thoughts. _And with the help of you, they will kill everything you love. _Scourge's voice soon faded away.

"Icefang!" The louder voice of Firepaw snapped him out of his trance. "Creampaw asked you a question and you kind of… got lost in your thoughts."

"I would prefer not to answer that question." He looked back at the creamy white apprentice. He turned away and began walking towards the mountains that you could see from a far. Even though he had been taken to a cutter, he knew that the mountains were right by the clans. But from here, the mountains looked quite distanced and not as huge when he was side by it.

"What was the most you've gotten hurt?" Firepaw asked, sky blue eyes focused on him.

"I broke my hind leg." He stopped for a moment and lifted up the one that had been broken. "I was stuck in the cutter's for a moon." He looked back forward and continued to talk. "It wasn't as bad as you think, I was fed and given water, and I haven't gotten sick since."

Firepaw nodded his head. "Ok then."

They continued to walk, and Icefang was glad that he was getting away farther and father away from the twoleg-place. His time there could be almost comparable his time with the Dark Forest. Both had the same idea after all, recruit, manipulate, and kill.

"So how long have you three been searching for me?" He figured that he would be alright if he asked a few questions to those who got him out of there. It wasn't long before he felt a pelt brush up against his. He turned his head to see Pinepaw.

"Just around two moons." She told him. "We would've gotten here sooner if Firepaw didn't think that going away from the setting sun was a good idea."

Firepaw now spoke up. "Hey! In my defense neither of you said anything."

Pinepaw rolled her green eyes. "Sure, sure Firepaw." Now looking back at him, she looked at his collar. "Are those actual bones?"

Sadly, Icefang nodded. "They are teeth and claws." He couldn't help but say it with disgust. This collar alone was unnatural and ripping teeth out of the dead to wear like trophies was a disturbing thing to think about.

While still walking, Icefang looked down at his paws, and though his claws were retracted in, the claw extensions poked out. _I need to take those off. _The claws had a slight tint of red on them, and he very well knew what that meant.

Now looking up at the sky, he could see the sun beginning to fall. Had they really been traveling that much? He looked around, and he could see that they were in the outskirts of the small twoleg-place that the cutter had fixed his broken leg. After all he had met Smokepaw, or commonly know by his other name, Percy.

"Are you hungry?" Firepaw looked at him. "You looked like you haven't had a real piece of prey in a while."

Icefang looked at himself, and his pelt was dull, and he could slightly see his bones. He looked at the other three, and their pelts were shinier than his, that he could pick out easily.

"Well I could go for something that isn't twoleg scraps." Icefang chuckled. "Something that actually tastes like prey." He wondered how Scourge could survive on Twoleg-scraps, after all, it may have been the will to survive that allowed him to put up with it.

Icefang soon heard a rustle, and he turned his head towards the sound. He got into a hunters crouch and slowly crept to what he assumed it to be prey. He tasted the air, and could now tell that it was in fact a animal that could be eaten. He tasted the air again, and now identified it as a mouse again. _Im surprised that the twoleg-place didn't completely destroy my smelling. _He remembered that the twoleg-place smelled like crowfood half the time, the other half it smelt like the monsters.

Soon shaking his head to refocus on the mouse, he took his pounce, and easily impaled it with the claw extensions he had on. He slid the mouse off the claw extensions, and brought it back to where the others were.

"Ill share with Pinepaw." He told them.

Firepaw nodded. "Me and Creampaw will hunt then." The two apprentice's went off by themselves, and Pinepaw sat next to him.

He beckoned her to take the first bite of the mouse, but before she did so, she asked him another question. "So are you glad that you are going home?"

He looked at her as she took the first bite. "I really cant answer that… remember that all the clan leaders seemed a bit… angry at me for the lack of better words." He looked away now. "But they have to listen to me now, for their safety."

She nodded. "Well we should get some rest." He was chewing some of the mouse. "The sooner we sleep the sooner we can get to the next day."

He nodded, as she took another bite into the mouse. She did have a point. "Then let us start making the nests." He took his last bite of the mouse, and began by digging two different holes into the ground to sleep ing, the claw extensions made it easier to dig into the semi-hardened ground, so it would shelter them from leaf fall winds. _These claw extensions do have their uses_, He smiled smugly looking at them, _maybe they'll come in handy later._

Then the two apprentices returned now. "Well I see you've already made the den's." Creampaw looked at the two holes in the ground.

"We will be need the rest if we want to get home sooner." Icefang told her, starting to get into the hole he had made for both him and Pinepaw. "After all," He let a yawn break his sentence, "I am quite tired." He closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

But for the first moment of his slumber, all he could see were multiple points shining in the dark, to what seemed to be a collar around the cats neck, along with what seemed to be shiny claws. The figure soon pounced towards him and then his dream went dark.

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**Well here we go! Another chapter done, and I hope you enjoyed it! Please review me some constructive feedback if you may, and submit your OC's for project NONY! To those who do submit OC's, please format it like this:**

**Preferred ****Allegiance ****(Thunder/Shadow/Wind/River)**

**OC (Name Description, gender and optional age)**

**Talon is out!**


	32. XXXII: The Mountain

**The Mountain**

**Hey! Here is another chapter of this story that has gotten the overwhelming support of all of you! Enjoy!**

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Icefang and the group of apprentices had been traveling for nearly a moon now, Icefang trying to distance himself and NeoBloodclan to prevent Scourge from retake his body, for something of that twoleg-place that had triggered Scourge to come out and take control. Hopefully the farther they got away, the less of Scourge he would see.

_But you will never truly get rid of me. _The voice echoed in his head. Icefang always forgot that this monster could intervene with his thought. He rolled his eyes.

"Ok how are we going to get up this mountain?" Icefang looked at the other three. They had previously done so and had met up with the Tribe of Rushing Water from what Pinepaw had told him.

"Um." Firepaw looked at the slope they had stopped right in front of. "We could start climbing until we get up there?" The ginger tom suggested, pointing his tail to the ledge, which had tuffs of grass showing. "I mean its not like we have any other options after all."

Creampaw and Pinepaw looked a bit hesitant, but Icefang was willing to agree with his brother's idea. "Waiting around isn't going to get us home." He jumped up on the first ledge. "After all the sooner we get home, the better."

Firepaw soon followed, along with the rest of the apprentice's. With every movement that got him higher up, he could feel the cold growing slightly colder. With every pawstep up he could feel more relieved, distancing himself from the twoleg place. He looked up to see the tuff of grass getting closer and closer. He looked down to see Firepaw, and then a memory flew through his head. A memory of his own, the memory from the forest.

He saw himself on a branch and then saw Firepaw get higher and higher, and all the way at the bottem, he could see Dovewing and Bramblestar. He was in Thunderclan. He suddenly saw Firepaw get up to his level and a devious smile was on his face.

"Icefang!" Firepaw spoke, and he snapped out of his trance. "What are you doing?"

Icefang shook his head. "Sorry got a bit lost." He looked up. "Ill tell you more when we get onto solid ground." He jumped up, and continued to do so until get got to the top, feeling the grass under his paws. This felt so much better than the paved roads of the Thunderpaths.

Firepaw got up and waited by the ledge. Creampaw hopped struggled to get up, but was aided by Firepaw. Next was Pinepaw, who managed to jump up by herself.

"Now that we are all up here." Pinepaw began, looking at the three of them, "Let us look for the scent markers of the Tribes."

"What does it smell like?" Icefang asked her.

She now looked at him. "You'll know when you smell it."

Again, they began to walk, but this time to find a scent of the Tribe's. All he could assume was that from there, they would walk home after a good nights rest.

As they continued to walk, they began see a light white sheet on the ground. Icefang took one step in it, and easily identified it as snow. For him, this was the first time he saw it, but from the memories of Scourge he had relived, he knew the feeling, the look of snow. It wasn't long before the cold actually got to him, and he felt a jolt of cold surge flow through his body, causing him to shiver.

Pinepaw chuckled as he scrunched his head back. Icefang was never fond of the cold, and probably never would be, it almost made his own name sound ironic. At least it was a name he could be proud of. He let Creampaw and Firepaw walk ahead now, and let himself fall behind to her.

"So how long did you actually wait before you went out searching for me?" Icefang wanted to know.

"I think half a moon." She looked towards him. "Why?"

He chuckled and nudged her. "I thought I told you too be good and stay out of trouble while I was gone." She looked worried for a moment. "I'm just playing, after all I cant thank you enough for getting me out of the twoleg place."

She chuckled as well. "Well your welcome then." She rolled her eyes now, and flicked her ear with the cut in it. "After all I couldn't let you stay out here forever, you belong with Thunderclan."

His smile slowly turned into a grin. "I'm just worried what the clans will think of me when they see me." He looked at the fangs on his claws and thought about the collar around his neck. He now looked up and saw the sun beginning to fall, and the stars beginning to rise. The moon wasn't entirely full, but it was nearing it. "But once I reveal to the clans the plans of NeoBloodclan, then so much death will be avoided." He paused for a moment, knowing that cats _would _die from defending the clans.

_It would be your fault then. _The voice whispered to him. _They will blame you for bringing this evil upon the clans, and your name shall be whispered in infamy, just like mine._

Icefang simply ignored the voice. He would not let this cat that was no longer with the living demean him. Scourge was just as bad as the Dark Forest, manipulating him for his abilities, telling him that he could be someone he wasn't.

He took a deep breath, but this time, there was a scent in the air. It smelled like stone, but at the same time, it smelt like mud as well. "Is this the Tribe's scent?" He asked Pinepaw, who nodded to his question.

"I told you would know it once you smelled it." She chuckled. "Now we just need to find the Tribe's cave." She scanned the landscape now.

"Those are paw prints right?" Creampaw pointed the dip in the snow that looked unusual.

Firepaw walked up to look at them. He sniffed it now. "Certainly the Tribes." He spoke. "Good eye Creampaw." He purred as he looked at her. "Now if we just follow them, we should reach the tribe soon enough."

Icefang liked the idea of that, but couldn't get the thoughts of NeoBloodclan off his mind. Still he shook off the feeling of the sins he had to live with and continued to walk alongside his friends.

They reached the cave as a light snowfall began to fall. As they headed towards the cave entrance, two cats met them. There he could see a small dark brown tabby and a dark gray tom.

"Why have you returned?" The smaller brown cat that sounded like a tom asked. He could soon feel their gazes landing on him. They seemed confused for a moment but then they realized who he was.

"So you are their missing tribe-mate?" The dark gray tom asked him.

"I am." He looked at them. "Who are you?"

"I will notify your kin." He looked at Firepaw, not even answering his question. "Sheer Path Beside the Waterfall, keep an eye on them." The tom soon retreated back into the cave.

"Sheer Path Beside the Waterfall?" He whispered to Pinepaw. She nodded.

"They have strange names." She responded. "But they usually go by a shorter version of their name."

He nodded. "That makes some sense." He was somewhat confused still by this naming system.

Soon the dark gray tom came out with another dark gray tom that had amber eyes.

"Firepaw, its great to see you again." This tom looked at his ginger brother. "And its great to see the rest—" He cut himself off as his gaze landed on him. He soon realized that his pelt ruffled up and his claws unsheathed.

"What is wrong Stormfur?" The cat called Sheer Path Beside the Waterfall asked, looking out into the distance.

"You!" He knew that this cat named Stormfur was directing it towards him. "You're dead! Firestar killed you!" This tom drew closer to him.

"Whoa there." Firepaw wedged himself between them. "He's with us."

"He's a murderer! That is Scourge you have brought with you!" He hissed, the anger could be seen clearly. "He was the reason why a lot of good cats lost their lives on the day of that battle." He now looked back at Icefang. "Now leave before I make you."

"I am not Scourge." He growled. "I may look like it, but I am not. I am Icefang of Thunderclan, I was exiled for killing three other cats in the Dark Forest," He hissed at the accusation of being Scourge, "one from each of the other clans to save Pinepaw here." His icy blue eyes seemed to penetrate the anger of Stormfur. "Now I know what my appearance shows, and you know very well what that entitles."

Stormfur's amber eyes seemed to widen. "It couldn't be then." He looked away. "Are you telling me that Bloodclan is back?"

He nodded. "Stronger than before," Now looking away he continued, "and now they know the secrets of the clans."

"But how?" His eyes seemed to narrow.

"Ill tell you the rest once we get in." Icefang narrowed his eyes as well.

"Very well." He now looked at the other cat. "Jag, notify the Stoneteller that they have returned."

Stormfur guided the four of them in, and took them to what seemed to be the center of the cave.

"Now please explain about this danger that has arisen once more."

He nodded. As if it was yesterday, Icefang explained everything from the start, his experiences with the second soul in him, beginning from when he was a young kit, his victories in battle, and the pain he has caused, and the cats he had murdered, reliving each one he had killed. How this very soul had become entwined with him to the point where it had taken over all his actions, his daily life had become this monster's life to control. The way this monster reorganized savages that strived for the better lives of themselves only, to work for the greater good of all.

And as soon as he started, he reached the end of this tale. The tale that was a life he was burdened with, a life that he wish he didn't live, a life that could've been different, but in the end, it was who he was.

"So Scourge _is _a part of you?" Stormfur asked, confused. "Why?"

"I've been asking myself that for a long time now." He looked away. "All the Blood I've spilt for no reason, all the pain I've caused to gain respect, and to protect those, all that. I wish I could undo." He sighed. "But it is the burden that Starclan has given me to live with, and with that I must make amends."

Creampaw looked at him now. "How could you make amends at this point?" She looked at his paws now. "You are seen as a murderer by the other three leaders, and from there you seem to cause others to fear you, and this look isn't going to help either."

"That is true." Pinepaw agreed with her fellow apprentice. "But there is always a way to make amends."

"That's right." Firepaw looked at his brother now. "So how will you make amends with the others now?"

Icefang now looked down at the claw extensions on his paws. A flashback hit him, and the claws were dripping with the crimson red he had spilt. He shook his head to get himself out of this trance. "There is only one way I see to make amends." He looked down now. "I must accept this path Starclan has burdened me with, and Starclan must've intended for me to cause this much pain if they had not stopped me so many seasons ago." He sighed now.

"This monster inside had clouded your judgment for so many seasons, using you as a tool to advance their plans." Stormfur told him. "The question is how far are you willing to do in order to stop yourself from bringing harm?"

He thought about this now. To the four others looking at him with silence, waiting for his response now, Icefang finally found the words to speak. "All my life, I have been spilling blood from the killing blow all the way down to the smallest cut." He looked at the four listening to him. "From this day forth I vow not to bring harm to any other living cat, whether they want to bring harm or not."

The cave grew silent, as Icefang's last words seemed to ripple throughout the cave. The vow had been made, and Icefang's mind was set.

From the life he had grown up with, twisted by the influences of the Dark Forest and even Scourge, telling him to kill others so they no longer are a threat, he knew that the choice was now in his paws, and the decisions he makes now will affect him for the rest of his lives.

_Every living-being has meaning in this life, and I have no right to spill the blood of others, to take away the gift of life they have. _He told himself. _Death is but a part of life, but murder, the forceful end to another life is cruel, and has no place in my life. Not anymore._

He felt a smile grow on his face as he felt all his heinous deeds, his sins, slowly lift off his shoulders.

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_**There we have it! I had fun writing this chapter around 12:30 in the morn, but here it is! I hoped you like this and please feel free to review and favorite this tale I put my efforts into!**_

_**Project NONY still needs OC's! Please send them in!**_

**Preferred Allegiance (Thunder/Shadow/Wind/River)**

**OC (Name Description, gender and optional age)**

_**Talon is out!**_


	33. XXXIII: Returning

**Returning**

**Hey all! Im not dead, just not posting because im slowly getting crippling de-motivation for some reason, and I had to stay up til 3 am watching warrior maps parts to revitalize my inner fan of the series which worked quite well.**

**Another note, what rustles my jimmies about fanfiction are all the "Starkit prophecy" rewrites. Feel free to tell me what rustles your jimmies about Fanfiction and ill be sure to answer your reviews next chapter!**

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Icefang closed his eyes as he thought, not caring about anything else but his new commitment to avoid killing any other cat, which would be the biggest decision he would make in his life. As he slowly fell into a deep slumber, feeling the warmth from his clan-mates snuggled by his side.

Of course this was only there for a short while, then, everything began to run cold. It wasn't because of the wintery chills of the outside, or the fact that the others had gotten up; no… it was something more… vile and destructive.

It wasn't long before he realized that he had something looking at him from the distance. It was a pair of dark yellow eyes and a pair of amber eyes. It took him a moment before he realized who those eyes belonged too.

"_Well, well, well." The black tom with grey streaks appeared from the shadows, with a devious smile._

"_Clawpelt." Icefang looked at the tom with a cold stare, remembering what he had done to him._

"_I haven't seen you walk these grounds in a while." He seemed to chuckle, his fangs showing. "What happened? You got scared?"_

"_No." Icefang sat down, holding his ground. "I simply hated being here, especially after I killed you." He looked straight into the tom yellow eyes. "You do remember that right?"_

"_How could I forget." He stood up, to reveal a line from the top of his neck. It took a moment for Icefang to notice that it was a scar. "Ive been walking in your shadow if you haven't noticed."_

_Icefang nodded, remembering the time how both him and Breezepelt looked at him from a far when he was caged._

"_Oh how I wait for the day to kill you." He got closer to him, almost muzzle to muzzle, his hot crowfood breath radiating right in front of him._

"_Then why don't you do it right now?" He spoke with no intention of violence in his voice._

"_I would love the idea of slashing through your flesh right here and now, just to see the crimson red flow right out of the wound." He put his claws up to Icefang's neck. "But if I kill you, I risk hurting those I once wanted to protect in my lifetime."_

"_How?" His eyes narrowed, looking at Clawpelt._

_Clawpelt chuckled, drawing his claws away. "You see, you awoke a monster that has a even stronger influence than us, the Dark Forest." He turned away now. "That collar around your neck and those reinforced claws you have there? That is the monster you have reawaken."_

_Icefang looked down at them and nodded. "I see now." Clawpelt now sat down in front of him._

"_You put my brother's litter in danger, and that doesn't fare well with me." His eyes narrowed as his ear flicked. "Now if you do manage to protect those I once had a watchful eye over, and survive, then I will consider the option to let you live."_

_Icefang nodded, but noticed a glint of mischief. "There's a catch." He looked at Clawpelt. "I can tell."_

_Clawpelt now cackled. "Oh how observant are you." He had a small smile on his face now. "Every claw moon until your death, you must head to the Moonpool, and you must draw the blood of your own," He paused for a moment, looking at his claws, "a single drop is all that is needed, and you must sit there the entire night, as a reminder of those you have killed."_

"_That is all?" It couldn't be as simple as that._

_But Clawpelt simply nodded. "If you don't do it, I will hunt you down and kill you." A small grin was on his face._

_Icefang was in conflict for a brief moment. To defile the most sacred place that the clans had to be at peace with the Dark Forest? It might be a risk he would have to take after all._

"_I choose to honor this agreement." He hesitantly agreed to it._

"_Then the deal is set." Clawpelt looked at him with his yellow eyes. "I look forward to seeing this happening."_

It wasn't before long he woke up, right next to Pinepaw, and his friends. It was strange to see Clawpelt again after such a long while, especially since he had left the territories so many moons ago.

He shook his head as he looked around. He could see the cave walls of the Tribe, and he could see some of the Tribe-cats already up and doing their respective roles in their daily life.

"I see you are awake now." He turned to see Stormfur. "So when do you plan on leaving back to the clans?"

"Soon enough." Icefang looked at the other four that were sleeping. "I'm not sure if the clans are going to be to happy when they see me."

He could tell Stormfur's gaze was on him. "At least some of the cats have to be glad that you'll be returning." Stormfur took a deep breath. "After all, their fate depends on the information you give them."

Icefang sighed and nodded. "Its true, but nothing will be able to prepare them for what is coming."

"Then I expect you to prepare your fellow clan-mates as best as you can." Stormfur told him, and he could hear the hope in his voice. "Remember, Starclan didn't burden you with this responsibility just because they wanted too."

Icefang looked at the older tom. "You're right." He straightened his back. "I wouldn't have gone through all of this is Starclan thought I couldn't handle the burden."

He could hear Stormfur purr now. "Now that's the way to think." He looked at his sleeping clan-mates. He got up and nudged them, which promptly got them to awaken. "Rise and shine."

He chuckled as he saw some of them groggily get up. His brother seemed eager to get on the move on while Creampaw seemed exhausted. This didn't matter as the more important thing was to get this information to the leaders, and from what they had saw from yesterday's moon, today would be the Gathering.

"Lets go." Icefang told them as he walked up to them.

Creampaw looked at him. "Let me stretch first." She soon yawned, then began to stretch.

"What about prey?" Pinepaw looked at him.

"We'll hunt on the way." Icefang responded quickly.

Icefang and his group got prepped for travel, said their goodbyes to Stormfur and the Tribe, thanking them for their politeness for giving them shelter, and began to head out.

They climbed down the mountainside with extreme caution, and around that time, it was a little past sun-high. They hunted and ate and continued along their journey. Eventually the moon began to rise as the sun fell, and it became quite clear that the Gathering would be held that day.

There were heavy scents of all the clans just radiating from the area; it brought the nostalgia of his old home. He and his friends walked up to the log to cross onto the island, and from the freshness of the scents, the Gathering might have as well just have started.

Icefang looked up at the moon, and saw the fullness of it. Looking down at his paws, he could tell he was shaking, and he could tell, his friends could see as well. He looked to the left to see Firepaw and Creampaw, who nodded their heads, and he looked to the right to see Pinepaw.

"I believe you can do this." She gave him a reassuring nod as well.

With confidence in his smile, his quivering stopped, his anxiety dissapating, he jumped on top of the log, and walked across it.

He could see Mistystar speaking to the clan cats, and for a moment, he felt that he was attending the Gathering. Of course her talking came to a halt when her eyes caught sight of him. It wasn't long before the other leaders caught sight of him as well, and then the cats of clans.

It became quite clear when pelts began to bristle, and stares of fear and question began to appear, but only one cat seemed to remain calm, and if this cat was startled, they hid it very well.

"It's great to see you again Icefang." He called out from across the clearing.

His old mentor, Bramblestar, saw through what others clearly saw.

Silence soon claimed the entirety of the Gathering, as eyes kept their focus on him.

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**There we have it! A new chapter and I am so sorry for not posting recently… ive had a lot in real life and stuff like that since the semester ended and stuff. But im finally glad I got around to posting this new chapter! Make sure to review if you want to give criticism, after all it is the sole job of a reviewer to do so, to praise if you enjoyed it, or to just to review for reviewing sake!**

**Talon is out!**


	34. XXXIV: The Time has Come

**The Time has come**

**Well here it is! A new chapter for AHSC! Check out the prelude of "Thorns of the Herbs" on my short story/challenge collection! Enough blabbing, heres the chapter!**

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It had been a full month since Fang had disappeared during their sleep. Saw looked around and sighed, remembering how he had found out.

"_Saw!" One of the alleyway guards had ran to him waking him up. "Fang has not returned from his stroll."_

"_What do you mean?" I had yawned, being rudely awakened from my slumber, soon waking up Shadow as well. "Has not returned?"_

"_I mean he went on a stroll and had not come back." His eyes held a serious concern. "I would not tell you this if it was not true Saw."_

"_Go check it out then." He had ordered, remembering how he had went to sleep soon after._

He chuckled, remembering how he wouldn't have ever guessed that Fang had disappeared in general.

_He had soon felt a paw prod his side as he awoke once again. It was the gray paw of the black she cat with gray stripes. She moved her head to the scout whom had searched the area._

"_There was no blood at the site of where I had found his scent." He began. "And there was a lot of foreign twolegplace from what I had scented." The scout had told him._

"_What?" Saw got up on all fours now, genuinely worried on the inside, but hiding it from the others. If Fang was gone without any clue of his whereabouts, he was in charge._

"_What do we do?" A light whisper could be heard from Shadow. Sure she was shy still, but she was quite smart as well._

"_Do not speak a word about this!" He looked at the scout and the guard. "If any cat asks about them, tell him Fang is planning his attack." He turned away and began to head to what was now his dumpster. "If they persist, do what is necessary." _

_The guard and scout nodded as they walked away._

_Once out of sight, he sighed and began to quiver lightly. Everything he had helped construct was now in danger. He was no leader, yet he found himself lost now that Fang was gone._

He stopped wandering in his memories for a moment, looking around for a second, making sure that no one else had attempted to kill him while he was at his most vulnerable. _Still alone. _He sighed and relaxed a bit, sitting down now. Sure he was in the alleyway, yet the threat of being killed was still real.

_It didn't take long for the cats of this new Bloodclan Empire to realize that Fang was gone, and every time I was out of the Alleyway, some of the cats looked at me as if I had done something to Fang, as if I would have wanted him to go away._

He chuckled once again, remembering how Fang was always paranoid about leaving the Alleyway alone.

_I guess he did have reasonable cause to be worried all the time. Now that I'm in his paw steps, I see now rouges will jump at the first chance of power._

He looked down to see Shadow peacefully sleeping. He sighed, remembering how he could once do that without being afraid of waking up in a pool of his own blood. Now he began to think. Not just about himself now, but rather the future of Bloodclan itself.

"Maybe this was just a foolish idea I've held since birth." He looked away now, looking up towards the stars. "Ever since I was told that tale of Bloodclan, I've always wanted to make it true…" He paused. "But here it is at my paws…"

"It wasn't a foolish idea." A faint whisper could be heard. He turned around to see his second in command. "You made it true, and Fang simply helped you." She looked at him now. "You—"

"It was a foolish idea!" Saw cut her off. "He knew what to do, he told me everything I needed to know…" He trailed off now. "Maybe we should just let it all fall to ruin." He turned towards Shadow. "Let us run away from this Shadow." He could feel himself quivering now. He trusted Shadow with his life, and he considered her to be his friend.

"Let it fall to ruin?" Shadow's once quiet voice began to a lower talking voice. "We worked hard to make this dream true, _you_ worked hard to make Bloodclan alive once more." She had a grin on her face now. "We cant let Bloodclan fall to ruin, for the hope's of all, _you _have to power to change the fate of all! To be loved and adored by all!"

Saw turned to look at Shadow. "You're right." He could feel more confident now. "If I was to let Bloodclan fall to ruin, all these cats would tear themselves apart for a new leader." He now looked up at the moon, nearing its complete fullness. "I know the plan that Fang had intended to use to defeat the clans, and now," He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, "now is the time to tell Bloodclan that we are ready!"

Shadow grinned and nodded, turning away. "I will tell the strongest warriors to come here."

Saw jumped down from the dumpster. _Fang left, but he never found out on what I had been working on for him… it is something I will have to use._

He proceeded to climb under the dumpster he had been sitting under, and just a glimpse, he could see it. He had found a new collar, with what seemed to be shiny points around it, almost around the time NeoBloodclan had been founded, and he kept it a secret. Along with that, he had found a more flexible sort of material that seemed cut through flesh easier, only finding out when he himself accidently cut himself with it. For the past two months he had been shaping them so they could be used as claws, and he had a pair done.

He smiled as he looked at them, slowly dragging them out from under. Slowly, he slid his head out from the bone-studded collar he wore, and could he the clicking as some of the bones fell out. He soon carefully took off the bone claw extensions he had worn for the past couple of months.

He could feel the cold air touch the flat part of his fur covered by the collar, and some of the light bruises caused from the bones being too tight. He soon slid his head into his new collar and it felt less tight and could sure as be more threating in sight. Then he put the new claws on, one by one. After putting them all on, he began to walk, and he could hear the clicking of them, which was a slightly higher-pitched click to them.

Soon enough Shadow returned. "The strongest of Bloodclan are here."

He nodded, jumping up onto the dumpster. Soon enough Shadow did, taking her place by his side as his second in command.

He could see ten cats, each of them heavily battle scarred, collars brimming with the bones of their enemies, and the patches of fur missing from their previous victories.

"You are the best of the best." He began looking down. "I would assume you all are the most loyal to the cause as well, and I depend on the ten of you too spread the word." He paused once, and looked up. "But now it is the time to change the fate of Bloodclan!" His voice was rising now. "We will not longer starve during these blazing summers and harsh winters! We will not longer have to fight each other for food!" He was yowling now. "We will no longer have to worry about another cat trying to kill us in our sleep!" He took a deep breath, looking at the night sky now. "We will attack the clans at the lake, this coming month! We will kill every last one of them, and we will take it for our clan that so desperately needs it!"

All the cats that were brought were now yowling with approval and from the yowling in the night sky, and the moon shining high, all you could see was the reflection coming off of Saw's collar and claws

"We are stronger than the clanners! We are unified unlike those clans! We are BLOODCLAN!"

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**Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if you didn't, oh well, there had to be a chapter before that you enjoyed! Have a wonderful day or night and hope you enjoy your reading session!**

**Talon**


	35. XXXV: Full Moon

**Full Moon**

**Hi all! I'm back from my**** small addiction of Civ 5, and I hope to continue to write this story, and I can tell, it is drawing near its ending. I also happened to notice that this story is almost a year old now! Its come a long way from just this! Enough talking, enjoy!**

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Silence was all there was.

"I see that your friends had found you." He had a small grin on his face.

If it were not for Bramblestar's words, there surely would be a mass panic.

"What brings you back here Icefang." A hostile hiss came from Onestar. His eyes were narrowed, and he surely now, wasn't too pleased that he had returned back here. "Tired of living your life like a rouge?"

"Save your temper for later Onestar." Mistystar sharply told him, looking back at Icefang now. "Surely he returned to let us know if there was something going on outside the clans." Her eyes seemed to be fixed on the bone studded collar now.

"There is." Icefang nodded, looking at his friends who stood behind them. "If it were not for these three I would be stuck in what was known as NeoBloodclan, or New Bloodclan."

"New Bloodclan?" One cat called out, with a worried tone.

"Didn't a lot of cats die in the first battle against Bloodclan?" Another cat called out as well, and as quickly they had become silent, they were riled in panic now.

The leaders put their tails up, to let the cats know they needed to be silent. It wasn't long before all the cats began to quiet down.

"You were a part of them for some while." Rowanstar assumed, pointing his tail at his collar, and his claw extensions. "Surely they know something of here, the Lake, am I not mistaken?"

Icefang nodded, beginning to shake as he knew they would soon pick at him to find out what else he knew.

"I met up with a few of them who convinced me to join them." He began, looking back at his apprentice friends, mouthing the words _Trust me_, knowing if he told them the real story of how he _willingly _told them knowledge of his home, they would never accept him. "Not too long after I joined, they found out I was a clan cat, and they forced the truth out of me, making me spill the secrets of the clans, and this place."

The cats began to murmur, mostly about NeoBloodclan's knowledge of their home. Worried gazes filled up the clearing now.

"I'm guessing that's how you got all those scars." Rowanstar looked at his pelt matted with newer claw marks on them.

Icefang nodded. "The moment they got the information, they began to plan their attack."

"What exactly did they make you tell them." A cat called out, and the leaders looked at Icefang with the expression of curiosity.

He looked down and gulped. "Everything about the clans." He paused. "Our ranking systems, our Warrior code, how we have healers, Starclan, how leaders have nine lives… everything." It took a moment for the gravity of his words to hit the leaders, them knowing now that they were no longer safe. He sighed now. "They would've killed me if they didn't get the information."

"But why didn't they kill you." Bramblestar's eyes narrowed now. Icefang could assume that he could see the plot holes in his story now. "Surely the Bloodclan I remember they were ruthless killers, killing all their enemies."

His heartbeat was getting faster now. "Their leader. A gray tom named Saw… he had a strange fixation with me, always talking about me as if he knew I was coming." He looked up at the full moon now. "He always talked about a black cat who would come and change it all." Icefang wasn't sure if this was true, but from what he got from one of his dreams of Saw, he could guess that was what he would say.

Bramblestar nodded, his amber eyes still held suspicion that may be questioned later.

"So what can we do?" A cat called out now.

"We surely cant let them take our home!" Another cat spoke out.

"Calm down, all of you." Mistystar looked at the pool of concerned cats. "We wont let our home be taken without a fight." She smiled. "Like last time, we will fight these tyrants and I promise you with the remainder of my lives, I will protect you all, not just for the good of Riverclan, but for the good of all of us who live in the forest."

There was silence for a moment, as if the cats of the clans were taking in this. Then Riverclan cats began to cheer, and soon after, cats from the other clans joined in.

"Let them come to us! We will show them!" One cat howled.

"I may have one life, but I will fight with the might of over one hundred!" Another cat howled out.

Icefang looked at the cats now, seeing how united they all looked, how it seemed that they would not give the enemy the chance to take their homes.

Rowanstar lifted his tail, and the cats began to get silent. "From this day forth, all of the clans, must begin battle training, to protect us from the impending threat of these cats that wish to take our very home."

The other leaders began to nod their heads with approval.

"Did they tell you hear any specifics of the plans?" Bramblestar looked at him. "Like any battle tactics or something they intend on doing?"

Icefang nodded. "They plan on targeting you four first." He took a deep breath. "Without you four, they know that our defense may fall." He looked at the other cats now. "They also plan on using the claw extensions and bone studded collars to signify themselves from us."

"Like the ones _you're_ wearing." Onestar spat now, eyes narrowed.

"Yes." He nodded, ignoring the hostility shown by the leader. The safety of all was more important than the leaders hate for him. "They will stop at nothing for the lake."

"So we kill their leader!" One cat from the crowd shouted. "Then New Bloodclan should fall!"

"That worked the last time." Bramblestar looked at Mistystar, who nodded, agreeing with the idea.

Cats yowled in agreement, and Icefang nodded, knowing that it maybe the only way to stop NeoBloodclan once and for all, though the idea of killing Saw or anyone for that matter was not so appealing to him.

_You will HAVE to kill someone in the end. _Scourge inside of him spoke softly. _No matter how hard you try to run away from OUR nature, you will kill. _Scourge seemed to be so confident that he would kill someone. _After all, killing is in OUR blood._

Icefang was about to reply when the voice seemed to stop talking. _I don't have to kill anyone. _He looked at the leaders now. _I won't kill anyone. _

"Is that all?" Onestar asked coldly. He looked at the other leaders without giving him a chance to answer back. "Well I think this Gathering is over." He jumped down and began to round up the other Windclan cats.

Icefang couldn't help but wonder what Onestar had against him. It didn't matter anymore for the most part; the same enemies faced them both anyways. He felt like it would be answered within time.

Soon enough he could see Bramblestar approach him. "Welcome back." He smiled now, and he couldn't help smiling at his old mentor.

"Its great to be back." He looked at the other Thunderclan cats, and he could see Firepaw and Creampaw both talking to Patchpaw, and Pinepaw was talking to Ashpaw. All of them seemed content being back home and all, but he couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

"Its great to have _all _our warriors back in our clan." He looked at Bramblestar now. "I'm sure Briarlight will be glad to see you back." He looked down at the ground to see his claw extensions. He lifted his paws up and slowly took them off of his claws.

He looked at Bramblestar now, with a smile on his face. "Lets go home."

They began to walk towards the log bridge, his thoughts full of everything that has happened. He looked up at the full moon now. _I wish I could go back and change everything. _

He didn't know how many times he had requested this, but he knew one thing:

He couldn't go back. He set these actions into motion. He caused all the pain. He brought back the evil. He killed all those cats. He destroyed and created. He loved and hate. He found and lost.

But no matter how he looked back, he just couldn't go back.

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**Well here you go! I'm still making characters for Thorns of the Herbs, and I still have literally no clue how I want to go about the Holly/Sol project I have XD**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will enjoy the reviews if I receive any! **

**Talon out!**


	36. XXXVI: The Dream

**The Dream**

**Well here we go! Another chapter done! I was also still working on the allegiances done, and I am 2/3's done with that, so once I'm done with this story, I will finish TJPWR, then Start on Thorns Of The Herbs and Hollyleaf/Sol NONY. Well hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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All he could see was darkness. He looked to the left. Darkness. He looked to the right. Darkness. Up, down, circling around. Darkness. He first blinked, to see if his eyes were truly open, and not to his surprise, they where. Then he exhaled to see his warm breath in a puff of white steam.

A foreign noise could now be heard. Turning towards it, he could hear it, as it sounded like metal being dragged along the ground. It was getting progressively louder and louder as he held his ground.

It wasn't before long that a set of hazel eyes opened, and they seemed to be the only form of light around. Then he could see a light shine from what he could assume as the rising sun. Than he felt something slash through him. He looked down to see three lines across his chest, to see the cuts so cleanly. He soon fell to the ground and his breathing got more rapid. He saw the light get closer and closer as this shadow tom climbed over him, with a grin of satisfaction. This cat lifted his paw, which had these long claws, longer than the bone ones, and much thinner. He closed his eyes as the one thing soon took him. Darkness.

…

It wasn't before long he jolted out of his nest yet again. He was breathing gasping for air as he looked down at his chest, to see no wound. He sighed with relief, and closed his eyes. This dream was not just his typical nightmare no… it had been reoccurring to him ever since he first had it, more so after he got home not more than over seven sunrises ago, becoming more detailed after every nightmare. He reopened his eyes to look around, seeing most of Thunderclan was still asleep, and a few nests were empty, maybe for the morning patrol.

He stretched and carefully got out of the warriors den. He rolled his neck, still wearing the collar of Bloodclan. He didn't know why he still wore it, but maybe it was to show that looks weren't always bad. He let out a huge yawn as he looked around once more.

_Thunderclan. _He still had not gotten used to the change of view from the city to the suburbs to the forest. _Home._

He began to walk towards the entrance of camp, just to see Birchfall and Cinderheart, who simply nodded to him, as he nodded back to acknowledge them.

He figured a walk could help clear his mind of this strange dream. He knew those hazel eyes belonged to a cat that he knew in NeoBloodclan, but the way those claws cut through his flesh in this nightmare seemed almost… unnatural. There was no possible way that claws could tear the flesh as if it was like a thin sheet of snow.

He looked at his scarred pelt to see all the wounds he obtained from those had done harm to him. He could still remember the light cut on his nose, given to him when Pinepaw found out about his deception. That was all in the past now.

It didn't matter though. This past would soon catch up with him, and he and his clanmates would have to be ready to take on this new threat. Luckily his words had reached the leaders, warning them about the threat that he had created, though none of them really knew he started it. The amount of patrols increased in all the clans, particularly in Windclan and Riverclan.

_Not like I had a say when NeoBloodclan was formed. _He thought to himself, still walking towards the lakeside. _It was all Scourge and his idea to restart what had been lost to the sands of time._

Though it would be time to fight, that was the thing that bothered him. Fighting that would more than likely involve killing others. He sighed as he walked closer to the lakeside to see his own reflection.

_How do you plan on defending yourself non-violently against murderers?" _The reflection spoke to him, soon realizing it was Scourge speaking to him.

Icefang had to think about this for a moment. These cats he would fight would not give up until he and everyone else he knew was dead, yet he knew he had to find a way to end what seemed to be an inevitable conflict. Yet no ideas came to mind.

_Ill come up with something. _He looked at his reflection, just to see that he was alone now.

_Just as the apprentice's and warriors are training to combat this threat, I'll have to find a way to practice as well. _He looked at the lake now, and how it didn't seem to ripple at all. It brought a sense of serene silence to him, making him feel safe, threat of invasion or not.

His pelt spike up now, thinking about who he knew that could die. Firepaw, the brother who was at odds with him at first, but who slowly became better friends with him. Creampaw, the she cat who seemed to keep Firepaw on the path of good, and possibly a potential mate for Firepaw. Pinepaw, his love, his driving force, the one he swears to protect, even if it kills him.

He heard his stomach growl, and decided it was time to head back to camp. He picked himself up and began to walk.

…

As he reached the camp entrance, he saw his clanmates talking with eachother, some of the senior warriors seemed to give him a distrustful look, more than likely invoked by the collar he choses to wear. He could see Smokecloud huddled by Snowcloud, sharing a piece of prey, and he could see Thistlepaw talking to his sister Shadepaw.

"Hey Icefang!" His named was called out. He turned to see Pinepaw laying with a piece of prey. "You want to share this prey?"

He nodded with a grin and walked towards her. He soon laid himself next to her. She began to observe his pelt. "You look worse for wear."

He rolled his eyes. "That happens when you are forced to fight everyday."

She nodded her head. "Well on the bright side your fur is growing back." She purred now, and licked the side of his face with the healed scar from Clawpelt.

He couldn't help but smile, looking at her, he hadn't noticed before, but she had grown a lot more from the last time he had noticed. She could actually be a tad bit taller.

"You want to go out of camp later?" She whispered to him.

He nodded as he continued to chew the prey. It wasn't long before they had finished the prey. They soon walked out of camp, and no cat seemed care, for they knew he was willing to put his life on the line for her.

They were walking, and from what he knew of Thunderclan territory, they were heading to the place where they had spent their last day together before he went to start up NeoBloodclan accidently.

"So have you been readjusting to Clan life?" She asked him.

He nodded simply. "Not like there's much more to do." He looked forward, closing in where she was leading him.

"And what about NeoBloodclan?" She looked at him. "What happens if they come?"

He looked at her emerald green eyes. "Then we as the clans will stop at nothing to beat them." He spoke with confidence. "I wont let them harm you either." He smile, and looked at her. He continued to walk towards her, and soon got by her side. "And after we beat them, we can continue those plans we had made those moons ago."

Pinepaw purred now. "That sounds like a great idea."

Soon enough they were at the lakeside, and Icefang enjoyed the view from where he was standing. He was smiling as he looked towards Pinepaw, who was sitting.

"So…" She looked at him. "Did you meet any she cats when you were in the city?" Her emerald green eyes seemed to have wonder in them. "Any that you where close too?"

Icefang couldn't help but chuckle. "Whats so funny?" Pinepaw asked, with a soft form of seriousness in her voice.

"Well Scourge believed that love was a weakness, so no, the closest I got to a she cat was the third in command named Shadow." He looked back towards the lake. "And our business was strictly on making Bloodclan better."

She seemed to be relieved at the telling of this information. "Well its great to see that you still love me."

He rolled his ice blue eyes. "Of course I do, why wouldn't I?"

She purred, as she got closer to him. He could feel her pelt warming up the parts of his pelt that had scars on them. "Well I still love you too."

"Oh I would've never guess since you came after me." He jokingly nudged her.

He turned his head to look at her, just to be licked on his nose. This took him by surprise. All he could assume was that Pinepaw had done this on accident.

His smile became somewhat smug for a moment, and he could tell that she was embarrassed.

Without any hesitation, he pounced onto her, so they would be face to face.

She didn't expect this, and she was chuckling nervously. He soon put his nose to hers and she closed her eyes, with a smile on her face.

…

They were out for a good while, because when Icefang woke up, he found himself snuggled next to Pinepaw, their tails twisted together.

"Pinepaw." He softly nudged her. "Wake up."

She slowly got up, and yawned. "How was—" A cat calling out cut her off.

"Thank Starclan we found you two!" It was Dunecloud with Firepaw and Creampaw.

"Why?" He got onto all fours. "Whats going on?" His heart started to beat faster. He could notice in Firepaw's eyes that something wasn't right.

"It's happening." Creampaw looked at him with eyes that showed some fear. "A warrior named Willowleaf ran to the our camp." She shook her head, as she took a deep breath. "You and Pinepaw weren't in camp, and we thought something happened to you."

"One of you please tell us what is going on!" Pinepaw looked frustrated, and worried at the same time.

"A Windclan border patrol was ambushed… by Bloodclan."

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**Well here we go! Another chapter done! Please tell me what you think, and im hoping to end this story soon. BTW if you wonder how Bloodclan got to them this fast, the street cats have experience with traveling on roads and all these cities, knowing how to avoid dangers and such.**

**Please enjoy what I have written, and if you like, leave a review and if you want to see more, follow and favorite :3**

**Talon out!**


	37. XXXVII: The Encounter

**The Encounter**

**New chapter. Not much more explaining to do. Hope you enjoy it!**

"Bloodclan? Here?" These words came out of the black tom's mouth as if they had left him breathless.

His ginger brother nodded. "They are, in Windclan territory." He looked over towards where the Windclan border was. He could see that this tom wanted to head over and fight, as his claws seemed to be unsheathed.

Icefang looked at his friend. "Had Bramblestar sent anyone over to help Windclan?"

Dunecloud shook his head. "When Willowleaf was leaving to warn Shadowclan, he had began to select cats to go, and sent me to find you, Firepaw and Creampaw volunteered to tag along."

Icefang nodded, and looked towards the lake, and how it was perfectly still. Now he looked up to see the sky, and how the sun was now beginning to fall. He knew he had to help fight Bloodclan, but not to kill would prove to be a difficult task.

Looking at the somewhat worried Pinepaw, he spoke. "Head back to camp with Creampaw," He took a deep breath to look at his friends, "me, Dunecloud, and Firepaw will head to Windclan."

Creampaw seemed fine with this arrangement, but Pinepaw had the face of disagreement, as if she was going to disagree with his plan, but to his relief, she gave a simple nod.

"Be safe." She put her nose to his side. "Ill see you when you get back to camp."

He nodded, now looking at the other two. "Alright, lets go."

The other two toms nodded, and all three of them began to run towards the Thunderclan-Windclan border. They were not the only things running, as Icefang's mind was lost in thought. He knew Saw would be there, but what would he think when he saw him. What would he tell him? What would Saw tell him? What would Saw reveal to everyone else?

He soon looked ahead, and saw the other two were getting farther ahead, and the stronger scent of Thunderclan showed that Bramblestar's battle patrol had already been here.

Coming fast, he could see the small stream that was easily crossable that connected the Moonpool to the lake, soon hoping over it. Once touching the ground once again, he sprinted, the scent of heather and moor filling his nose, letting him know he was getting closer.

He got closer and closer to the Windclan camp, and not only did the scent of Windclan get stronger, no… there was also a presence of a stronger foreign, yet familiar scent. It soon hit him that the Bloodclan invaders were pushing into Windclan's camp.

Slowing down now, he could see his friends already pushing into the camp, to be apart of the fight, and he soon got closer and closer until he was at their camp.

Windclan fighting Bloodclan, Thunderclan fighting Bloodclan, and there was a lot of blood already spilt from both sides.

"Help!" A masculine voice could be heard, and he turned to see a grey tom mottled with black, pinned down by a Bloodclan tom. He ran over to him, soon seeing this was Blacktail. "Go into the den! I got this savage."

Icefang nodded, soon rushing in to see another tom with his claws unsheathed. He could see Spottedwind arched, though her belly was really swollen. He remembered that she was expecting Blacktail's kits, but if she was, why was she participating in this fight? It soon hit him.

This was the Windclan Nursery.

He had to think of something quickly, or it could be the end of his friend and her unborn litter

"Hey!" He growled, and this tom turned around, suddenly struck with fear.

"F-F-Fang?" This cat seemed surprised for the moment. "We thought you wer—" This cat didn't get to finish his sentence as he gave him a strong, sheathed paw swipe to the head, knocking this cat unconscious.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Spottedwind purred. "Thanks for the help there."

Icefang chuckled. "Hey, its what friends do." He smiled.

Soon enough Blacktail came into the den, with a gash on his shoulder.

"You alright?" Spottedwind got back up fast, starting to lick his wound.

"Its nothing I couldn't handle." Blacktail winced at the first lick she gave to his wound. He now looked at the cat lying on the ground, and then to Icefang. "Thank you for protecting her."

"No problem." Icefang soon went up to the unconscious Bloodclan cat, and began to drag him out of the nursery. He soon saw a dead Bloodclan warrior right outside the nursery, and knew that this was the cat that was pinning Blacktail earlier.

It wasn't long before he saw more Bloodclan cats coming from the hills farther away, but it didn't stop the current warriors from pushing them back.

"I'm glad to see you could join us." He turned to see Bramblestar, who had a light cut on his side. Right beside him was Onestar, who looked worse for wear, with a couple patches of fur missing and some deeps cuts on him.

He shrugged. "I had the time." Now looking towards the hills, the Bloodclan cats pushing forward seemed to be at a stalemate with the clan cats pushing them back.

"Well we might want to help them." Bramblestar suggested, beginning to run over.

"Ill be here." Onestar said, soon seeing Talllight coming towards them, soon treating the leaders light wounds. "Ill get out there as soon as possible."

Icefang nodded, beginning to run towards the front lines. He was headed to where his old mentor was going.

As they got closer and closer to the line, more and more Bloodclan cats noticed his bone studded collar, and more and more seemed to be in question on why he was fighting for the clans. Still, it didn't stop them from fighting the forces pushing them out.

He could see both, bodies from the clans and bodies of the cats from Bloodclan, easily distinguishable by the collars.

"You're alright!" He heard Firepaw's voice get closer.

Bramblestar turned to him now. "Anything new?"

Firepaw nodded. "I heard that Bloodclan's push into Riverclan was a failure," He looked towards Riverclan's border, "heard some of the Bloodclan cats were pulled into the water and drowned."

"Nasty way to go." Icefang thought out loud, still wondering on how weird it was to die of drowning in battle, rather than succumbing to wounds.

"Anything else?" Bramblestar asked.

"Shadowclan and Riverclan will come over as soon as possible, or that what I heard from Reedwhisker."

"Alright then." Bramblestar turned, and began to head to where the fighting was.

"Bold leader we have." Firepaw looked towards where Bramblestar was headed. It wasn't long before he got into an offensive stance quickly. "Move out the way." Icefang turned, to see a figure charging. He moved as Firepaw threw a swipe, cutting this invaders muzzle.

"Why you little." The bulkier cat growled.

"I got this." Firepaw now charging this cat

Icefang nodded, knowing he could trust his brother to be safe.

"Well, well, well." A voice echoed across, causing most of the Bloodclan cats to stop fighting, and soon enough, cats of Windclan and Thunderclan turned.

Icefang turned to see not only groups of Bloodclan cats, but a cat stood out from the rest as there were things that shone off him as the sunlight was slowly fading.

"I thought you had run off or died Fang, but I guess I was mistaken." The voice paused for a moment. "You're a traitor."

It was Saw.

**Well there you have it. Another chapter done, and I hope to get the next one out by the next week!**

**Talon out!**


	38. XXXVIII: Hope for Change

**Hope for Change**

**Here it is! The 38****th**** chapter of AHSC! Hope you like it!**

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"You're a traitor." Saw's voice echoed as the moor got silent. His breath got heavier as Saw looked at all the cats.

Taking a deep breath he walked towards Saw, and he did the same thing until they both looked into the eyes of their enemies.

"You still wear the collar of MY cats you bloody traitor." Saw growled, loud enough for all to hear."

"I wear the collar because it reminds me of who I was before, and the trouble I had to go through to be where I stand today." Icefang spoke coldly.

"It still doesn't change the fact that you spilled blood just to be a traitor." Saw's hostility radiated off his spiked pelt. "We trusted you to lead us!" All of his muscles were tensing under his torn pelt. "In the end, you betrayed all of us for these clans!"

"Trusted you to lead?" Icefang turned his head to see Onestar's pelt spike up.

Saw chuckled with anger. "You didn't tell them now did you?"

Icefang was silent now, but it didn't hide his cold stare.

"I have an announcement about your 'fellow clanmate'." He looked at the cats of the clans. "Your 'friend' here was the reason we are here, he is the reason why we came here, he is the reason why both, cats on our side and your side are dead, he is the reason why NeoBloodlcan will have a better future!"

Bloodclan cats yowled with agreement as Saw looked at the clan cats. Icefang turned to see the horror, the anger, and the hatred on some of the cat's faces.

"He came to the city like he is today, he helped us fight off the plight that kept us hungry for many months," He paused for a moment, "he taught us to unite, he taught us to fight in the name of our glory, he taught us that the spilt blood of our enemies were the only thing that mattered!" He looked at Icefang now. "He taught us all the secrets that you had, your clan's ranking system, training, leaders, all that! He told us that there was prey here that could feed all of us for the rest of our lives! We are here to reap these benefits for us and those who will come after us!" He took a deep breath now. "We are here to take the lands that will be rightfully ours."

"I would rather die than let you have this place that our fathers and mothers have built up." Icefang coldly growled.

Saw looked at him with a grin. "That's what I hope you would say."

It wasn't long before a paw swipe was thrown his way. Icefang foresaw this and jumped out of the way.

"I guess that was to obvious huh?" Saw looked at his 'claws'. He shook his head. "NeoBloodclan… This one is mine." He took a deep breath. "ATTACK!"

He could see left and right, cats running past him, some of which had looks of envy, probably wishing that they could kill him instead of their leader.

Another slash was thrown, and Icefang had just barely evaded it. Looking at his shoulder, he could see the patch of fur, uneven with the rest, as if it had been cut off.

"What in Starclan's name?" Surprised, Icefang exclaimed.

"Like these new claws?" Saw chuckled, soon growling. "These were meant for you before you betrayed us!" He swiped again, missing as Icefang evaded with such ease.

Icefang looked at Saw, and he seemed to be determined to kill him.

"You don't have to do this." Icefang looked at him, speaking with calmness.

"I don't." Saw looked at his claws yet again. "But I CAN!" He swiped again, missing as Icefang dodged yet again.

He could see other cats eyeing him as he kept dodging their leader. Icefang needed to get away from all these eyes so him and Saw could be alone. Turning towards the Windclan border, he began to run.

"You wont get away so easily!" He could hear Saw yowl as he ran.

He ran for a good bit until he could scent the Thunderpath. Soon after he jumped, turning around and faced Saw. They were isolated, and it wasn't long before Saw threw yet another swipe, and yet again, barely missing his face, cutting of his left whiskers.

"What's the point of killing?" Icefang exclaimed, avoiding yet another swipe. "Is it to show that you're stronger than everyone?"

"Its to show everyone I don't make empty threats!" He threw another slash at Icefang, but missed again. "Its to show that I wont tolerate betrayal!"

"Forget betrayal!" Icefang yowled, jumping back. "Do you really want your cats living in fear of death everyday because you want to keep them in line?"

"They live because I whim it!" He threw another swipe again. "After all, I learned this from you!"

"Not from me Saw!" He angrily spoke, dodging yet another swipe. "From the monster inside of me."

"You lie!" Saw swiped again, slowly exhausting himself.

"I have no reason too!" He was breathing heavily now. "If I was, why would I be standing here talking to you, when I could've easily killed you when you were telling my clan mates of my evil deeds?"

_Am I get – _His thoughts were cut off as another swipe was thrown at him. _Nope, not getting through to him at all. _

"Traitors must die!" Saw panted heavily now. "Traitors like you should be fed to the rats!" He threw another swipe now, missing, and his claws made a clank sound hitting the Thunderpath.

Icefang turned to see one set of his claws, bent in an unnatural way.

"I'm lucky these aren't made out of bone." He removed them, one by one, clanking as they hit the ground, soon showing his real claws, retracting them for a brief moment to extend them fully.

He threw yet another swipe with his real claws, and missed yet again.

"Come on just give it up." Icefang panted now. "You cant beat the clans on our own land, and you can't let them all die from this battle."

Saw was silent for a moment. He looked down at his claws for a moment. "Maybe your right…" He trailed off. "This ambition to make Bloodclan the most feared again… it's not worth it now is it?"

"No its not." He looked at him. "You got cats killed who believed you could benefit them to a new home, and cats who believed you could bring prey to them. You've failed them by leading them to their death."

Saw now sighed, defeated now. "Your right." He bowed his head in shame.

Icefang nodded and smiled now. "Come on." He turned around now. "Lets—"

Soon enough, he felt a searing pain hit his shoulder. He could now see the crimson red of life flow from out of his body. "You…" He threw a sheathed paw swipe towards Saw. "You caught me off guard now didn't you." He hissed through the pain.

Saw laughed now. "I learned it from you after all."

He knew he couldn't run to his clan mates for help now, nor could he fight Saw in this condition. He began to limp off wandering onto the Thunderpath now. Icefang took a deep breath, and the scent of blood filled his nose. _I cant… I WILL not let him take control of me. _He used all of his willpower not to let the beast inside of him to take control.

"Can't get away from me now." Saw laughed manically now. "And soon, your fang's will make a wonderful addition to my new collar."

Icefang attempted to get into a defensive stance, but was soon cut at the chest by Saw's natural claws.

"I would've waited forever for this moment." His teeth were bared now. "And I knew you would be a suck up for my false sense of change."

Icefang could feel the ground lightly rumbling, it getting more noticeable as his back was pinned to the ground.

"Any last words?" He could see Saw's paw lift up.

"I saw a vision of you and the leopard pelted she cat, about the cold she talked about." Saw's eyes seemed to widen. "I remember how she talked about impatience and something else brought them their death." He smiled now, seeing a light get brighter. "I think it was recklessness?"

Saw's looked forward, noticing the light that had slowly appeared. He turned his head to see something that caused him to freeze, and Icefang knew what it was.

Icefang closed his eyes as he heard a thud and the air being forced his way. It wasn't before long everything got silent.

Icefang opened his eyes to see that the cat that had him pinned was no longer on top of him. Wincing now, he got up slowly, as he saw a small amount of his blood on the Thunderpath. He licked his wounds to feel the blood still welling up.

He looked up at the sky, which was dark as his pelt, littered with stars, he could see a silhouette in the middle of the Thunderpath, a small distance away from him. He walked towards it slowly, it didn't take him long to realize it was Saw.

He looked down at Saw's body, and he touched his nose against his pelt, feeling that it was still warm, but it wouldn't stay like that much longer.

Icefang looked down at it now. "I tried to change your mind." He sighed. "And you tried to kill me." He shook his head now. "I guess it's to late for an apology huh." He grabbed Saw's body by the collar and began to drag it towards the side of the Thunderpath.

Icefang nipped the collar off of what was Saw, and dug a small shallow hole, covering it up with dirt.

He took the collar of Saw to the sight of where the battle was still going on.

"Cats of NeoBloodclan!" He yowled. "Your leader has fallen!" Icefang dropped the collar of Saw right in front of him.

"Where's Shadow?" Some of the Bloodclan cat's murmured. Soon enough they looked around.

She was nowhere to be found.

"That makes me leader now!" One spoke out.

"I'm the new leader you flea bag!" Another one spoke. It wasn't long before the cats of NeoBloodclan began to fight amongst themselves.

He limped towards the cats of the clans and for once he didn't care about anything that was going on around him. He didn't care about this power struggle. He didn't care anymore that Saw chose not to strive for peace. He didn't care if he was to live or die after this day and soon enough it wasn't before long he was in front of his brother, who did have a scar or two.

"Its great to be back." Icefang could feel himself give a light chuckle as his vision began to tunnel as he fell to the ground.

He could see his brothers face change to a face of shock and fear as he called out to the Windclan medicine cat. All other voices became more distant, and figures headed towards him became blurrier as he slowly closed his eyes. His mind soon cleared of all worries as he let the ground coax him to sleep. There was one thing he could think of now.

Resting easy.

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**I enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Tell me what you think the fate of Icefang is and just remember to "Rest easy" :)**

**Talon is out!**


	39. XXXIX: Confrontation

**Confrontation **

**Alright, It took a lot of music, a lot of thinking, and last but not least, a lot of inspiration to make this chapter, and please, enjoy!**

* * *

Darkness.

The only word that Icefang could use to describe all that he could see. It was the only thing that engulfed him shortly after Bloodclan's defeat. He wasn't even sure if he was going to return to the life he was living up until this moment.

When he first arrived here, it was as dark as it was now. He spent days… or was it hours? Maybe minutes, or even seconds! He didn't know how long he had spent in the dark abyss alone. It seemed like time was frozen here, and it was as cold as it could get.

He decided it was time to stop walking. He looked around. _How do I even know I've been moving anywhere? _He thought to himself.

He sighed, and sat down now. He let his mind wander now, remembering all the things leading up to this very moment.

He opened his eyes, and looked around, to see a small rabbit den under a giant tree by the lake side. _Where am I? _He looked around once more, and noticed this was the tree he had his climbing challenge with his brother. He looked towards and saw how calm the lake was. He sighed and went to lick his pelt when he realized his pelt didn't have any scars on it.

_Strange… _Icefang pondered why all the scars he had accumulated all these moons were suddenly gone. It soon hit him. The calmness of the lake, the lack of scars on his pelt, no collar around his neck. He was reliving him memories.

He looked up to see a silhouette come down upon him. He closed his eyes as he braced for impact. The screeching of the bird soon came to a complete stop. He opened his eyes to see himself at a stream. He looked around, to see his clanmates, Pinepaw, Firepaw, Whitewing, even Bramblestar. He looked forward to see the yellow eyes of hatred, and it only took him a split second to remember who it was.

Clawpelt- or Clawpaw in this memory.

He soon pounced towards him, noticing his claws unsheathed, soon felling himself tumbling with Clawpaw. It wasn't long until he felt the side of his face get scratched, and he closed his eyes, hissing with pain.

He opened his eyes, and felt the pain move from one side of his face to the other, and he stood in front of another apprentice, this one with a russet pelt and was bigger than him by comparison. He looked around and remembered where he was.

Fighting Redpaw in the Dark Forest.

From where he stood, he could see his former mentor here, Breezepelt, and a few other cats as well such as Willowpaw. It wasn't long before he felt himself launching his attacks at the apprentice, nearly tearing off his ear. Once he was done, he could see the blood on his paws, and standing over this apprentice, victorious.

He shook his head and closed his eyes once again, to open them just to see himself looking at his bloodied up white paw, and looked forward, to see one grey tom with a horrified face, while the other one, had the crimson red of life slowly flowing out of his throat, still gagging from this. He looked to see Pinepaw's face even mildly scared at his actions. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes yet again.

All of a sudden, he yowled, as his pelt basically caught on fire with pain. He could feel the blood welling up at all his wounds, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Clawpelt with the smuggest smile ever. Icefang remembered how this would be the last time he would see Clawpelt "alive".

He soon felt himself get up, and charge at the Dark Forest Warrior, killing him swiftly, using the monster's prowess in battle. He had to relive the killing of all of those in the Dark Forest. Even killing Clawpelt once again.

Once he collapsed once again, he got up to see the full moon. He once again observed his surrondings, and all the gazes landed on him, but not in just the normal way, but the way a warrior would look at a fox. Disgusted, and filled with hate.

_Reliving my exile…_ He told himself, as he looked at the four leaders looking at him.

He closed his eyes, to get away from this memory, but his memories started to turn from bad to worse, soon opening his eyes to see the bright sun, but the wretched stench of the twolegplace, and now the tightness of the collar he wore became evident. He looked to the left, and saw his Bloodclan deputy.

Saw. The cat that would attempt to take the lands of the lake.

He now saw the three cats by the wall, which bowed their heads out of fear, and knew that they would be the ones to fight, the ones to kill, the ones to die. He closed his eyes to get out of this memory, but instead, it propelled him into multiple quick memories, each one with a common scene. Him killing a cat. Him spilling the blood of another being. Him claiming victory to protect everything he had built up. All the horrors he had committed to bring revive a dead clan.

Shaking his head now, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes, to now see himself in the mountains, with his friends, somewhere away from the monsters of Bloodclan. He sighed now, remembering the calmness and quietness of the Tribe's cave. Even the quiet rushing water brought his pelt to flatten down. He smiled now remembering how he decided the most important decision he planned to uphold in his life. Not to harm a single cat again.

He closed his eyes and exhaled. He felt his back lay against the ground, and when he opened his eyes, he could see Saw right over him. Saw's claw's were ready to slice him open, and just like that, he closed his eyes, to only hear the monster pass over him, and the bang that it made as it killed Saw.

He opened his eyes to see the darkness once again. He stood up, and he saw the surroundings around him slowly become a full white.

"You see, I have always been a part of your life." The voice paused. "And that's how it shall remain."

He turned around to see the one cat that had created all his problems in life, all his troubles he could've avoided, all the deaths that could have been prevented.

It was Scourge, in his spirit and essence.

Unlike the Starclan cats, he was more of a shade, but not like the Dark Forest cats, who seemed to drip off some of their shade every now and then.

"I see you've seemingly foiled my plans as your ancestors had done before." Scourge gave a frustrated sigh. "I would kill you right now if I could."

"Why don't you do it then?" Icefang challenged him, knowing that if Scourge was to follow up on his challenge, it would leave him dead.

"You forget don't you Icefang." Scourge looked at him with the cold eyes of hate. "Your essence is binded to this body Icefang, if I was to say sate my desire to murder you, I risk losing this body in the process." He smiled now. "That also means since I am binded to this body, you can't get rid of me the same way."

Icefang looked at him. "I wasn't planning on killing you to begin with." He paused for a moment. "I just looked back on all the memories I've had."

"I saw." Scourge narrowed his eyes. "I can see through your eyes since I'm technically inside you, idiot."

Icefang ignored this insult from the tom. "All of my memories, all my ideas, all my hopes, have also been yours as well." He looked at the cold-hearted tom. "When I was young, I remember I wanted to be the most powerful cat in the forest." He turned away. "I wanted to be a cat of the best warrior status."

"Your point?" Scourge looked at him, clearly not interested by his story.

"All those envies never came from my own heart, no. It came from you." Icefang now looked back at the tom with the bone collar. "You were the one who was the drive for everything."

Scourge chuckled. "You have no proof of this."

"Oh I do." He got closer to the tom. "I could've easily been defeated in battle multiple times, such as my first encounter with Clawpelt, but no, you wouldn't let me—"

"I was only protecting the only vessel I live in." Scourge narrowed his eyes. "It only make sure that my plans continued as well." He took a deep breath and looked into the nothing-ness. "Same thing with those cats in what you call The Dark Forest."

"So your plans were to exact revenge on the cats who had killed you many moons ago?" Icefang blandly said. "You could've let it go you know, after all, you were dead."

"I wasn't going to let it go!" Scourge growled at the idea of mercy. "I don't _forgive _my enemies, nor do I let them live!" He looked back at Icefang. "For every battle you've been in, if I control long enough to look your defeated enemies in their eyes, I would've killed them!"

"I know that." Icefang's whiskers twitched now. "And that is why we are so different." He paused now.

"What do you mean?"

"You've always been the vicious leader of a clan based on murdering all their enemies, never learning the morals I learned in my life."

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Scourge angrily asked. "If it was, it wasn't very good."

"No. Not at all." Icefang looked at the tom. "Me, I've never had the drive to kill, always being pushed to kill by none other than your will." He looked at his paws. "These paws never wanted to spill blood, but in the end, they always seemed to do so." He looked back at him. "You. You were a victim of your kithood, something that left you scarred permanently, driving you to kill, after all, you have shared your memories with me."

"So what's the purpose of all this?" Scourge narrowed his eyes, with complete suspicion.

"The point?" Icefang looked at the tom, and stood up. "To accept the fact that I am myself and you are your own spirit."

"It took you this long to realize this?" Scourge scoffed, and looked at him once again. "To realize that we are both two separate beings?"

"I've know this for a while." He retorted. "But just now, on a spiritual level I must accept that you as a spirit, one to speak to me, one to advise me with advice that is really not that helpful, and though you may never be able to leave my body, I should've said this a while ago."

Scourge looked at him now. "What?"

"I am Icefang." He looked at Scourge. "I am a warrior of Thunderclan, I am a cat who will defend my clan at the cost of my life, and a cat which will uphold the rules of the warrior code has set me on." He paused for a moment. Then he found his words. "I will never be you Scourge." He took a deep breath now. "I will never be the leader of the vile Bloodclan, the cat that wishes death upon all his enemies." He looked at him with silence.

"What was the point of that?" Scourge asked, with slight annoyance in his voice.

"Its simple Scourge." He looked away, and began to walk away. "I have accepted that you are you and I am me." He paused for a moment. "I have my destiny to live, and that destiny happened to involve you," He didn't look back, but continued to speak to the tom, "after all you ruined your first chance at your destiny, so I will not let you progress anymore with you plans to ruin the lives, the hopes, the dreams of all the clans."

"I do what I please." Scourge spoke. "I'll be back to destroy your clans that you hold so dear, and I will start out with the things you love, the things you hold dear, your hopes and your dreams."

"From the veins of ice and the heart so cold, I thought that was me all this time." Icefang stopped walking for a second, but didn't look back. "It was never my cold heart, nor was the veins of ice, but it was all you Scourge, you were the cat was pulling my strings in the end, but I will no longer be your slave, for I am in control of my destiny, a destiny I will hold dear for however long I shall live, I shall use it to my full extent, and I will never let you take that away from me, for the day I let you take my freedom once again, will be the day everything I've worked up to, all my hopes and all my dreams, will all crumble before my own paws."

As Icefang continued to walk away, he could feel the weight of his guilt slowly get lighter, allowing him to feel much more… different than he had been for the past seasons.

_Icefang. _He thought. _I am Icefang._

…

Icefang felt himself shiver now. He opened his eyes slowly to see the familiar setting of the medicine cat den. He could smell the herbs, and he had a few other den mates who were recovering from wounds as well. With that too, he could feel the cobwebs over his wounds, especially the wound Saw gave him.

Soon he heard his stomach growl. It was clear that he was hungry, but a bigger question remained, how long had he been out? He attempted to get out of his nest, which he was having a lot of trouble doing so, being wounded and all.

His attempts to get up were loud, prompting the medicine cat, or his mother to appear.

"You're finally up!" Briarlight acted surprised, yet calm at the same time. "We weren't too sure if you were going to get up this time, but glad to see that is not the case."

"I could use a vole, or something to eat." He said, now noticing how weak his voice was.

"Ill get a warrior to fetch some prey right away." She popped out of the den and not a moment too soon, his brother popped in."

"Hey Icefang!" His muffled voice seemed excited to see his brother was still alive. "You doing alright?" He asked putting down his prey.

"Fine Firepaw."

"I'm not Firepaw anymore." He looked at his brother. "I'm Fire_storm_ now." He puffed out his chest.

"That's great Firepa—storm." Icefang now looked at the piece of prey placed in front of him. "So how long had I been out?"

"Since the battle ended?" Firestorm looked at him now. "I don't know, maybe seven or eight sunrises."

"That long?" He seemed surprised. "Anything else happened?"

"Um, a lot of the paws who didn't participate as much as me, Patchfur, and Thistlewhisker in the battle against Bloodclan are scheduled to take their assesments today."

"Assessments?" Icefang looked towards the den exit. "So like Pinepaw and Creampaw are going to become warriors if they pass?"

Firestorm nodded now. "Exactly."

There was a brief pause.

"So… I do hope you feel better." Firestorm said, with a light smile on his face.

"I will!" Icefang felt a smile on his face as well.

His brother left the den with the mouse still in front of him. It left him to think.

_For once, I am free to live my life now… no more worrying about this threat of the Dark Forest, no more worrying about this threat of Bloodclan… I can choose to live my life normally for once… I don't have to be the slave or the puppet of any cat anymore!_

His head perked up now at these words.

_I can be me! I can be Icefang, not a slave for the Dark Forest, nor a puppet for Bloodclan, I can… No… I AM Icefang of Thunderclan!_

* * *

**Well here it is, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the next will be a Epilogue chapter, and the FINAL chapter of this story, A Heart So Cold!**

**Talon is out!**


	40. XXXX: Epilouge

**Epilogue**

**Wow… after 40 chapters, and almost a year, it brings me pleasure to create and post this chapter… but it also brings me sadness, as all of you who have read my story, supported it, enjoyed it, critiqued it, allowed this story be complete with the motivation you provided me! I'm grateful to those who had supported the story throughout its entirety and im glad to have had you all as I shared this story to you all! Now enough talking, heres the final chapter of AHSC!**

* * *

_It had been two moons since Icefang had returned, two moons since I returned along with him, two moons since Bloodclan had attacked and failed, two moons since I received my warrior name._

Pinelight sighed with joy as she looked at the camp clearing from her den. All was peaceful, the warm sun was out, the birds were chirping, leaves were swishing from the wonderful breeze. She couldn't remember a day that was this peaceful since her kithood.

She saw Creamfeather, sharing a piece of prey with Icefang's brother, Firestorm. She couldn't help but to smile, remembering how Firestorm had changed from bullying his brother to being one of his greatest friends.

Soon she saw Dunecloud walking towards her with a piece of prey.

"Morning Pinelight." He had put the piece of prey on the ground to greet her.

"Same to you." She nodded her head as she continued to look off into the distance.

"Can you move a bit to the left?" Dunecloud asked. "I need to get this prey to Acornfur."

"Sure." She moved a bit to the left, and looked as Dunecloud went in. She could see him giving Acornfur a piece of prey, and her little ones curled up beside her. It made her pelt feel all fuzzy and warm, seeing the two she-kits beside their mother. One  
/had a dark ginger pelt like Acornfur, and the other had a light brown, almost like sand, similar to Dunecloud.

She looked at the couple talk for a brief moment, but then she continued knew she couldn't stare forever. That would be awkward. She turned to see the other cats mill around the clearing, knowing their duties to the clan.

She smiled now, as she looked towards to camp entrance, to see the rest of the hunting patrol come along. Along with them was Icefang, and for a moment she considered to walk over and greet him, but she decided against it, and began to remember things  
/about him.

Icefang was the cat that always thought of himself to be the warrior who could win all battles, but there was always some blood spilled. The scars that are under his pelt, and are still visible to this day prove that. He was the one who had created and  
/tore apart the New Bloodclan that had tried to kill all of them those two moons ago. His personality seemed to lift up a bit more than usual too, and he seemed to stop zoning off often as he had before, as if he had made peace with himself. The only  
/thing that seemed off was the fact that he refused to remove his collar, still filled with its bones and teeth. She didn't like it, but Icefang always seemed to avoid removing it for some reason, as if he liked to wear it.

Of course, she would never know, but it was glad to see him smile more, and be more of the cat he wanted to be, instead of the killer every other cat had once labeled him as. He also even seemed to stop hurting cats, always keeping his claws sheathed,  
/unless he was trying to get something as well.

Another thing that seemed to be different with Icefang was not the scars on his pelt, but the scars that could be in his mind. Icefang could be hunting out in the forest or even sleeping in his nest, and for some reason, he would remember the horrible  
/and terrible things he had done during his lifetime. At first, Jayfeather had thought of it to be just nightmares and they would disappear since the first encounter with these terrors were at night. It soon became apparent that this was not the case,  
/as he could be on patrol, or even out hunting, and he would be rendered immobilized by something they couldn't see.

Jayfeather came up with a name for this "ailment"; Mind Terrors. Many herbs have been given to Icefang within the first moon, from the smallest berry to the biggest root. The only thing that seemed to relieve Icefang of these memories was catmint, and  
/even that was a temporary effect. The only good thing she could guess was that he was seemingly getting better with time, and with each treatment Jayfeather had to offer, the effects from these Mind Terrors were getting less and less common.

Now she could see Icefang heading towards her as she sat there.

"You want to share prey?" He looked at her, with a mouse in his mouth.

Pinelight smiled. "Sure, but let us share it in the clearing."

Icefang nodded, bringing it along with him.

She looked at him. "How are you feeling today?"

"Better than usual." He smiled. "Its been a few sunrises since I've had a Mind terror." His chest puffed out, as if he was content with that.

"That's great to hear." She began to eat the mouse lying in front of her.

"So how has your day been?" Icefang asked back.

"Same as always." Pinelight smiled. "Waiting in the nursery until _our _kits are born."

Icefang couldn't help but smile. "It feels like just like yesterday… we were apprentices, looking for our purposes in life, our purposes in the paths Starclan had destined us to be on." He seemed to sigh. "But also the things we've learned, the cats we've  
/met on the path."

Pinelight nodded. "It does feel like that sometimes, but its glad to see that we are where we are today, and not like before where we were separated."

Icefang couldn't help but purr. "Exactly." He nuzzled the side of her face.

He looked up at the sky and his ears perked up, and his mind seemed to wander off.

"Icefang?" She tried to get his attention, but it was clearly divided somewhere else. "Are you alright?"

He seemed to snap out of it. "I'm fine." He got up. "I just have to go to the Moonpool."

"Again?" She looked at him. "You go more often than a medicine cat."

"I just have too." He began to walk away. "Be safe!" He called out as he began to walk away.

"Strange." She looked up at the sky, and she saw the moon slowly rise as the sky got darker and darker. It was in the shape of the claw.

_Past his Mind Terrors, Icefang would make a great father. _She smiled as she saw him walk out of camp.

…

Icefang continued out of camp, still walking towards the Moonpool. He knew today was the day he would continue the contract he made with Clawpelt almost a season ago. It was his duty to honor his end of the deal for peace. After all, it was what he wanted.  
/The cost not to spill blood, was to spill his own blood.

He thought a lot: About his past, about what lied ahead, about his murders, about his unborn kits. The list could be endless if he wanted it to be. But for now, he had to think about the task at hand.

He walked and walked until he reached it: The Moonpool.

Walking up to it, he remembered this place as if it was just the day before he went there. He remembered the skirmish at the Thunderclan-Windclan border, he remembered all the nights he spent with Spottedwind before they both found love within their own  
/respective clans. The full moons when heading to the gatherings.

He headed inside of the Moonpool cave and saw the pool of water, still as ice. He walked up to the pool of water and looked into it.

He bent his head and closed his eyes. "I ask for Starclan's forgiveness once again."

He sat upwards, and unsheathed his claws. He lifted up both of his paws, sitting on his hind quarters. For a brief moment, he let his claw dig into the pad of his paw, wincing in pain as the claw entered and exited.

He now put the paw without a wound down on the ground, and let the blood well up in his paw. He soon put his paw over the Moonpool, and soon let the blood drop out of his cut.

He soon froze now. He felt an intense amount of anger and guilt at the same time. Anger for subcumbbing to the orders of the Dark Forest yet again, but guilt for making those cats end up there in the first place. Anger for creating NeoBloodclan, but guilt  
/for causing cats to die in the Battle of NeoBloodclan.

He soon felt a cold breeze trickle up his neck. The blood fell into the water, causing it to become red.

_You have returned to renew our contract of peace? Very well… it is done. _As soon as the voice of Clawpelt appeared, it disappeared.

Icefang, still immobilized by the sudden Mind Terror, couldn't help but remembering all he had killed, those he knew, and those he didn't. Those he killed directly, and those he didn't. Those who where killed for a reason, and those who weren't. All of  
/these, flashing in his mind faster than the lightning during a storm. This guilt hit him harder than any monster could.

The blood from the water seemed to disappear for a moment as a cat with a starry pelt appeared. It was the one cat who he knew who died for Pinelight so many seasons ago.

It was Dewstream.

_Do not fear Icefang. _He spoke. _You have done nothing wrong, though that's not what it seems. _Dewstream paused. He looked at him. _Starclan has always watched your path since birth, and they knew what you would do, what you would go through, and the path you walked was bloody, but remember you rose above it all. _Dewstream  
/couldn't help but smile now. _But from those harmful breezes, you forged your friendships and your love though those hardships that occurred._

Dewstream looked down now, and saw himself fading, as if it was his time to return to the starry plains he would spend his afterlife in.

_Just remember Icefang, you have a long life ahead of you, a life forged from A HEART SO COLD!_

* * *

**Well there you have it! The end of A Heart So Cold! I cannot thank all of those who reviewed, those who modivated me to continue, and even those who gave their honest opinion on what had occurred in the story, it makes me remember of all those nights i would stay up almost up till 0300 in the morning writing chapters for the all of you! It makes me warm and fuzzy on the inside remembering that almost a year ago on the 24th that this story started, to be finished a year later! Well enough of me remembering, I bid you all farewell and I hope you all have a great morning/afternoon/evening!**

**ADDED ON 3 OCTOBER 2330: If you would like to see more of my writing, please feel free to check out my other stories that i have created, such as Turning a New Leaf andUnbroken Remastered! I can also assure you that there will be A Heart So Cold Remastered, or something of the sorts!**

**Talon, signing out!**


	41. Authors Note: A Formal Return

Hello my fellow fanfictioners!

The lot of you might have known me as Talonclaw of Moonclan. I know I have not been fully active on this site, since it it my senior year in high school after all, and I wish to apologize for my inconsistent writing habits, after all, i am only human, but it doesnt excuse me from completely forgetting about everything.

I have decided to put things in full gear since my time fanfiction is drawing near to a long hiatus, for I have decided to enlist in the armed forces, as it has been a long dream of mine to serve in the armed forces, but i cannot forget my responsibility to you, the readers who give their continued support to my story! I wish to let you know that I am in the progress of rewriting my story Unbroken handsomely dubbed "Unbroken Remastered" and am currently thinking of ways to continue "Turning a New Leaf". Hopefully once im done with Unbroken remastered, I will hopefully find the time to remake "A Heart So Cold".

These stories were my pride when I was a young writer, and when i looked back at them, i remembered what i had also hoped for these stories as well, so rewriting them is the best way i can implement the edits that will make these two year old stories magnificent!

Moonlight Talon of the Night


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